Moonless
by Sesshomarus x lover14
Summary: Sahara lives with her father and four other siblings at the edge of their village. However, Sahara and her older brother appear to be different from other humans, therefore, the family tend to keep to themselves. Until the day she is suddenly kidnapped by a demon lord. Can she discover the truth about herself? And maybe even find true love? (Sessh/OC)
1. Sahara

"Kindra! Kindra! Wait!" The young blonde girl panted running to catch up with her younger sister.

Kindra turned her head and laughed at her older sister, "I'm gonna beat you, Sahara!"

Sahara watched Kindra's long brown hair bounce off towards the shrine just down the hill from where their house was. She stopped short of breath and turned to her left to watch the sunrise far to the East. It was the coming of age ceremony for her oldest sister, Rima, who had just turned sixteen yesterday. From now on, Rima has the chance to marry any suitor she deems worthy. Or any man may choose her. Although, Sahara doubted either would happen anytime soon. All three of Sahara's sisters were beautiful with their long black or brown hair, big brown eyes, and soft skin. Rima was especially beautiful though. She had the thickest raven black hair anyone had ever seen. Her personality even matched. She was probably the nicest person anyone had ever met, but she never let anyone, except her sisters, get close to her.

It wasn't just Rima though. Sahara's whole family was a bit more closed off than the other families that lived in the village down the hill from their house. They weren't bad people or anything. At least that's what Sahara kept telling herself, but other twelve-year-old kids had other opinions about that. They told stories about demons terrorizing villages and some told of horrifying stories where demons would live in villages disguised as humans and at night would kill everyone in the village and…

"Sahara! If you are just gonna stand there then come help me!"

She slowly turned to the male voice that called down to her from the house and locked blue eyes to green. Her older brother stood holding two baskets of food in each hand. He smiled down at her a playful gleam in his eyes strands of his brown hair swayed lightly in the breeze. He was the oldest of the siblings and the most attractive man in the village. If only his eyes weren't green.

"Come here! I can't carry all six of these baskets by myself in one trip now, can I?" Her blue eyes slid down to his feet where two more baskets, not as full as the first four sat.

"Okay!" She exclaimed cheerfully running back up to grab the remaining two, one in each hand. "Um, Touya, where is father?"

"He has already gone to the shrine while you girls were getting ready. Careful! Don't trip on that new kimono now."

"I won't." Came her reply after she recovered from almost tripping.

The walk didn't seem as long as it normally did when she would make the journey alone to the shrine. She adored her brother. His laugh and smile always warmed her heart. If he wasn't her sibling he would probably be the one she would dream of marrying. He had a big heart and a carefree spirit like their father, but their father had simmered down a lot after the murder of their mother.

"Sahara?"

"What?"

His green eyes looked down at her for a moment, a serious sad look in his eye, but he turned to look forward again as they reached the back gate of the shrine.

"Never mind. Lets have a good day and enjoy the celebration." He smiled again. A smile Sahara didn't like because it was a false smile that said "I have a lot on my mind, but I'm gonna pretend to be happy for you". It was all she could do but nod in agreement watching his face, wondering what he could be thinking.

The ceremony was beautiful! Everyone was dressed in beautiful silk kimonos and all the girls and women had pretty butterfly and flower decorations all done up in their hair. Rima was completely done up in make up and her long thick hair was in buns at the top of her head with flowery ornaments done up in and around them. Her blue kimono decorated with sakura petals fitted to her curvy body perfectly. Her smile glowed as she greeted everyone at the feast that proceeded after the ceremony.

Sahara sat with her second older sister, Gwen, underneath a tree looking out at all the people who were gathering to eat. Gwen was brushing Sahara's long blonde hair to braid it into two separate braids that would be pinned up in a butterfly clip at the back of Sahara's head.

"What did you think of the feast, Sahara?"

"I liked all the foods! Although I have to say, the food you, father, and Touya made us was the best!" Sahara smiled. Normally men weren't allowed to help in preparing or making food, but because Gwen was the only woman really old enough to make anything father and Touya wanted to make the job a little easier.

"That's good I'm glad. " Gwen carefully clipped the green butterfly in place before standing to observe her work being careful not to ruin her orange kimono. "There! All done!"

Sahara jumped up and hugged her sister gratefully. "Thank you, Gwen!" She smiled into her sister's brown eyes who returned it with a smile of her own, but then they grew a bit solemn.

Sahara was starting to get used to these looks every time a member of her family made eye contact with her their eyes would show some sign of pity. Sahara remembered in her earlier years that it used to not be the case with the exception of her mother who couldn't bear to look at her own daughter. Sahara was five when her mother died and she soon learned after that why her mother couldn't bear to look at her or care for her the way Touya, Rima, Gwen, and her father did.

It was a summer day when the sun was high in the sky just after her seventh birthday. She wanted to play with Gwen and Rima who were playing with some of the neighbor girls. They allowed her, but Sahara could sense some sort of tension and fear in the two neighbor girls that were comfortable and content with her sisters. The topic of choice switched from favorite foods to boys the almost teenagers liked. Sahara began playing with sticks and stones that were one the grassy ground they sat on listening to the conversation thinking it better not to join because she was supposed to be too young to like boys, but there was one in particular that she had her eyes on.

"Rima! Don't say that! I think Sato is very attractive!" Gwen exclaimed throwing a dandelion in her sister's face playfully.

"I agree with Gwen." One of the brown haired girls chimed in. "But I like Keiji. He will definitely be the one I marry!" She laughed and Sahara tensed. "My brother already said that he would arrange it for me with Keiji parent's so that when my coming of age ceremony comes in a few years he will be engaged to me."

"But Keiji wants to make his own choice in women! He doesn't want to be chosen by just anyone!" Sahara found herself saying before she could stop herself.

The second girl suddenly turned on the her and glared deep into her blue eyes, "What do you know? You probably will never mate with any of the boys here, especially Keiji! You are weird!"

"That's not very nice! Don't treat my little sister like that!" Rima scolded the younger girl.

"Its true!" The first girl argued. "Her hair color is different and look at her eyes! They are as blue as the ocean! Who would marry someone like her?"

"She has arms, legs, hands, feet, face, and feelings just like you and the rest of the women in the village. C'mon you two lets go." Rima stood up grabbed both of her sister's hand and dragged them off towards home.

Sahara watched Gwen talk to Rima. She was shocked about what just happened between the three girls almost as much as Sahara was about it herself. She felt like her world just got dark and lonely. Everything thing seemed so different like a veil had just been lifted from her eyes and everything seemed to hit her at once. Her mother had nothing to do with her because she was different. Her hair was yellow while everyone else's hair was brown or black. Her eyes were different, just like Touya, who just went through the coming of age ceremony a few days before and no woman made an attempt at making it known he was wanted as a husband. Was she doomed? Bound to wonder the earth with nothing going for her? From that day on, Sahara was more conscious of the looks and whispers the villagers made towards her.

"Sahara?" Touya strolled up a rice ball in his hand.

"Is that for me?" She gladly took the ball from her brother and gulped it up. "Yummy! Thank you!"

He nodded turning to Gwen, "We should probably start heading back home. The villagers are starting to get seriously drunk and father doesn't want to stick around."

Gwen nodded taking Sahara's hand to head home. "What about Rima and Kindra?"

"Already headed that way."

The three siblings made their way home only to find there was a visitor at their door.


	2. The Strange Encounter

**A/N:** Sorry for the long update! Hope you enjoy! (^^)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, except my own!

**Story Start**

The green imp stood with his tiny arms folded across his chest standing in front of the tall dark haired man who seemed puzzled and a bit sympathetic as he watched the green demon think. Sahara stared uncontrollably at the thing. He called himself "Master Jaken" and was about chest high to the young girl. She had seen some weird looking demons in her lifetime, but this one just topped all the other ones off. He had two long, green bone-y fingers and a short one which she assumed was a thumb. He had tiny pointed ears on his big head and tiny feet that looked more like bird feet missing a toe. He even had a beak!  
>The little demon opened his eyes letting his hands fall to his sides in defeat. His long brown robe covering his ugly hands. "Very well. If you have no knowledge I must look elsewhere." He turned to leave the family that stood outside the little house watching him when his large yellow eyes stopped on Sahara.<br>He squinted at her a little bit making a faint "Hmm?" sound before his intense gaze was interrupted by Rima.  
>"Everything okay, Master Jaken?"<br>"Y-yes, yes. I am off!" With an embarrassed "Humph!" he scampered away.  
>Sahara looked into the faces of Gwen and Touya in confusion, but they held no answer so she turned to Rima and her father. "What was that about, Father?"<br>The muscular man turned his bright brown eyes on his daughter. His forehead had a few wrinkles and his eyes were starting to get a few, but he still looked younger than the forty years that he had been living. He stared at his daughter for a moment and then looked into the forest where the stranger had run off to. "He was looking for Kuto."  
>"Kuto? Why? Has something happened? Why would a demon seek him?" Gwen questioned letting go of her sister's hand to stand beside her father and look in the same direction.<br>"I do not know. He was from the Western palace that these lands are governed from. The lord most likely had some business with Kuto. Unfortunately, No one has seen him ever since he went hunting with that group a few days ago."  
>"Is the search party still searching for all those men?" Asked Rima.<br>"No they stopped searching this morning. They have come to the conclusion that he and the rest of the hunters must be dead so they will appoint a new head of the village."  
>Sahara stayed tuned to the conversation, but her blue eyes scanned the surrounding trees. She felt odd, like she was being watched, but nothing moved in the branches or the underbrush. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling and it made her uneasy. She turned cautiously to her family realizing they had all went inside and she hurried in after them.<br>Their daily routine started from there like the ceremony or master Jaken visiting had never happened. When Sahara went outside again to do some washing with Kindra and Rima her uneasiness had passed and there was still no sign of anyone in the forest. It was all forgotten and their lives moved on as normal. Until four years later right before Sahara turned sixteen.

"Hey, Rima, do me a favor and go with me to get water down at the river!" Touya called into the house.  
>"I can't right now, Touya! I'm busy cooking." Rima called back.<br>"I'll go with you." Sahara walked up from behind the house carrying some apples she picked from a near by tree.  
>Touya observed his younger sister. The last three years had been a blur for him and soon his beloved sister would be sixteen. Her body had already began its transformation into the young woman she would be in just a matter of days. Her hips had grown further apart almost as fast as her breasts had grown. Her childlike face had morphed itself into a more mature woman's face and now, probably more then ever, she looked less like her siblings. Her bright blue eyes sparkled brightly up at him and her long blonde hair hung loosely down to her waist. Touya nodded his approval standing to the side so she could put away the fruit.<br>She came out with a bucket of her own and followed her eldest sibling into the forest. They walked in comfortable silence for a while side-by-side. Sahara breathed in the fresh air deeply letting out a long sigh. She hadn't been in the forest for a while now. She never liked to go alone because she had heard too many scary stories about demons roaming inside. Looking up at her brother, who concentrated on following the well worn path the family always used for going down to the river, she smiled to herself. She knew she was always safe whenever he was with her.  
>They were almost to the river, deep in the woods, pretty far from the house, when Touya suddenly stopped walking. Sahara turned back to him confused. "What's wrong?"<br>His intense staring almost made her take a step back. It was almost like he was looking through her. She could see the emotions running through his green eyes, but couldn't tell what he was thinking. She took a step closer, snapping a twig in the process, which caused him to blink and fully look at her.  
>"Nothing is wrong." He finally said regaining his voice, "There is.. Just something I think you should know. But I don't know if I should be the one to tell you or if its even the right time to tell you." He paused looking at a tree to his right before turning back to his sister who stared back still confused. "I've been wanting to tell you since Rima's coming of age ceremony, but you were so young and I couldn't find the words. But I think now that you will be having your coming of age ceremony soon you should know who you really are."<br>"Who I… Touya? You aren't making any sense. I know who I am. I'm yours, Rima's, Gwen's, and Kindra's sister. Sahara." She took a step closer reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. She had a weird frightened feeling inside her gut and it seemed like the once chirping birds and loud forest sounds had all died away.  
>"No." He shook his head stepping away from her, which caused her to take back her hand. "We aren't human. We really don't belong with Rima, Gwen, and Kindra."<br>"We? But why? Why don't we belong!?" She took a few steps ttowards him closing the small gap between them and grabbed him by his grey hoari dropping the bucket she was holding in the process. "Touya, you are acting weird. What are you trying to say?"  
>"You are not human, Sahara. Its time you knew. You are the last of the-" A loud crashing noise from deeper in the forest cut Touya off and he grabbed his sister and started running for the river.<br>Sahara struggled to keep up with her brother and dodge the falling debris around them at the same time. Her mind felt like it was running in circles around what her brother had just told her. What did he mean she is not human? If she isn't human then what was she? She bit her lip confused. Was she a demon? Who all knew about it if she was? Did all of her siblings know? Did her father know? Why didn't anyone say anything?  
>The two made it to the river and realized what was causing all the falling debris and crashing noises. There, on the opposite side of the winding river, were two young men in the middle of a wild battle with swords. They both had long silver hair, pale skin, and what looked like amber colored eyes. These were demons, she realized, by the markings on the face of the one who wore white hikama pants and a white hoari, that had weird red symbols on it, under armor. The other opponent with the huge sword wore a red kimono and had dog ears on the top of his head.<br>"Wind Scar!" Called out the dog eared man as he swung his sword at his opponent causing three rows of strong winds to come out of it, which scarred the ground it crossed.  
>Sahara's blue eyes went wide as she recognized the attack. A tall man with long silver hair tied up in a high pony tail flashed behind her eyes. She had witnessed this attack before, but she didn't know when or where or if it had been in a dream that she hadn't had in years. Whichever the case she couldn't get him out of her head.<br>The taller opponent with the markings on his face dodged the attack by jumping into the air and away from his opponent shouting "Dragon Strike" which caused lightning to come out of his raised sword and strike the surrounding area.  
>Touya grabbed Sahara's wrist, causing her to let out a tiny scream of surprise, pulling her to him in an attempt to save her from the lightning strikes surrounding them, "We have to get out of here." He muttered.<br>The two demons paused their upcoming attacks for a moment to look over at the two siblings huddled together on the opposite side of the running water. "What are you two doing? You are getting in the way!" The dog eared man called out.  
>"Inuyasha!" A small group of people to Sahara's far left called running towards them from the forest that Touya and Sahara had come out of, "They are from the village!"<br>Touya pulled Sahara behind him glaring at the approaching group having noticed the two demons and the strangely dressed girl with them while keeping an eye on Inuyasha and the other silver-haired demon across from them.  
>"Get them out of here, Kagome!" The man named Inuyasha ordered the strange woman pointing his sword at his opponent, "This has to end now, Sesshomaru!"<br>However, the one named, Sesshomaru's attention was no longer focused on Inuyasha. After seeing the young, blonde, blue-eyed girl he wasn't able to take his eyes off her. She was the one he had been searching for. Touya, realizing Sesshomaru was the lord of the west and also that he had his golden eyes trained on his younger sister, moved in between his gaze and the younger blonde. Sahara never took her eyes off of the strange group of mixed humans and demons still coming towards them trying to make sense of them. Were the humans friends with demons? She had never heard of such a thing.  
>Touya glared daggers at Sesshomaru who let slip a very attractive, dangerous smile. Was this half demon attempting to challenge him? The demon lord wondered.<br>"Sesshomaru, are you listening to me?" Inuyasha swung his sword and Sesshomaru merely glared at his half brother before dodging the attack and heading straight for Touya.  
>Inuyasha quickly caught on to his brother's movement, heading for the siblings, and moved to intervene, "Sesshomaru!"<br>Touya stepped back from the approaching half brothers, which caused Sahara to look up at him her eyes wide in horror seeing the ascending demons. "Run, Sahara, into the forest as fast as you can and don't come back no matter what." He quickly whispered making ready with the bucket still clutched in his hand.  
>Sahara never hesitated when her brother ordered her to do something so she turned quickly on her heel and dashed into the forest as fast as her legs would carry her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she heard her brother grunt as he hit the ground. She looked over her shoulder, never stopping, and spotted him laying on the river bank on his back, the bucket drifting in the water, and the demon with dog ears hovered over him with a confused look on his face. The group of people finally made it over to him and looked at her brother concerned. But what made Sahara's heart race even faster as she continued deeper into the woods was that the demon with the markings was no where to be seen.<p> 


	3. Hidden Object

Sahara continued running deeper and deeper into the forest veering off the trail that led to her home. She could no longer hear or see her brother who was with the others, but she knew the other demon was out in the woods somewhere, probably following her. Her eyes spotted the clearing that was surrounded by thick trees, her destination where she always ran to meet Touya when they got into trouble. The young blonde stopped suddenly before going into her hide out, she looked around to be sure no one was following her before she squeezed herself inside. This had become a more difficult task the older she got because her breasts and hips were so much bigger and wider that they were hard to squeeze between the clustered trees that protected this one grassy place in the woods.  
>Finally, she popped herself through and stumbled inside, tripping over a root, and landed on her hands and knees Her blue eyes landed on a pair of black boots a few inches in front of her. She quickly looked up into the demon's face noticing his two magenta stripes on each of his cheeks, the magenta crescent moon on his forehead, and finally his large honey colored eyes. A scream of surprise escaped her lips as his hand reached out to her throat and she was immediately held up in the air pressed up against one of the surrounding trees struggling to breathe.<br>The demon's breath was hot on her face, "You are the whelp whose mother was involved with my father, are you not?"  
>Sahara grabbed at his wrists in an attempt to try and loosen his hold, "I don't know what you are talking about." She struggled to get out.<br>"Sesshomaru, leave the girl alone!" The red clothed half demon cried jumping into the clearing with the rest of his friends and Touya. Sahara's eyes grew wider at the sight of the light brown cat ears atop her brother's head.  
>"Or what, Half-breed? This does not concern you anymore." Sesshomaru turned his head around to briefly glance at his half brother.<br>Touya clenched his fists and stepped beside Inuyasha, "Sahara is my sister. Her business is my business."  
>Sesshomaru dropped his captive to the ground turning from her as she sucked in precious air. A dangerous smile crossed his lips as his cold eyes watched his brother ready his large sword motioning the half-cat demon to move back with his friends. "Her brother? You are not of the same breed as this demon. Tell me, you must know how a pure blood wound up with an annoying half-cat demon like you?"<br>Touya growled in response wanting to spring at this demon, but he knew that would be a horrible idea. The older dog demon was deadly and he knew he had no real chance against him, "And why should I give the likes of you that information? What does a demon lord want with my sister?"  
>Sahara stood up causing the demon lord to glance over at her in the corner of his eye and then turn his cold amber eyes back on Touya, "I don't need to explain myself to you. I have business with this demon, you are not needed here." He turned to look back at the young woman who now glared at him.<br>"Why does everybody keep saying I'm a demon? I am human! I have no claws, no markings, no weird ears, and certainly no fangs!" She motioned to her nails and head as she said this to make her point.  
>"Yeah!" A little fox demon piped up from atop the large twin-tailed cat demon who stood beside the three humans behind Inuyasha, "She has no demonic aura!"<br>"A jewel shard." The girl with the weird outfit whispered aloud looking almost like she was in a daze, causing her friends to turn to her.  
>"Where, Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded turning his head to her.<br>The young woman, who looked not much older than Sahara, Kagome, pointed at the blonde causing everyone to turn towards her. "Its inside her chest."  
>"What?" The demon slayer woman stood foreword clutching at her giant boomerang behind her back preparing herself to attack if she needed to, "How are we supposed to retrieve it?"<br>Sahara stepped against the tree watching now horrified at the demon lord before her, who raised his right hand in front of him. He used his demonic energy to cause his nails to grow slightly longer and, before anyone could stop it, he sunk them into her flesh whispering in her ear, "This will hurt."  
>Her eyes widened in complete shock locked to his honey colored eyes. Before she could utter a sound he had moved back with an object that looked like a tiny pink shard of some type of crystal in between his bloodied fingers. Her cry of agony and pain did escape her lips at this time, but not because of the deep cut the dog-demon left in her flesh. Her entire body was pulsing. Demonic energy that had been built up and dormant in her body swelled from her, overtaking almost every inch of her body. Her teeth grew fangs, much like those of Inuyasha, but slightly smaller. Pointed ears replaced her human ones, but the worst of the pain came from her back causing her to fall forward on her knees hugging herself tightly. The pain the demon lord had warned her about was an understatement. What she was feeling right now as giant wings tried to push their way from inside her flesh to sprout from her back was, in fact, complete torture.<br>"What have you done?" Touya whispered horrified. His green eyes were locked on his sister wanting to do something, but too stunned by her tears and her transformation to really do anything.  
>Something ripped and a few seconds passed and Sahara collapsed on her side from pure pain and exhaustion. Wet, leathery wings, about her height, extended out behind her back. Touya stepped closer examining his sister with worried pools. Her long blonde hair stuck to the side of her sweaty face, but beneath that on her forehead, he noticed a dark pink symbol, but from his angle he couldn't determine what it was. His eyes traveled down her slender body to her side where he noticed her beautifully colored wings that were folded against her back much like the damp wings of that of a butterfly who had just exited it's cocoon. They were every beautiful color of a rainbow with thin black outlines. The skin that had been torn from her back to produce this fragile masterpiece was healing already. Touya knew there wouldn't be a single scar on her smooth Milky back. Then, he noticed the source of the ripping sound. Her plain blue kimono had ripped down her back so the giant wings could form.<br>"A butterfly demon?" The young monk questioned stepping beside Sango. "I thought they had all been killed off and nothing more of legends now."  
>"They were, or at least, none of the people at my village had ever dreamed of seeing one." Sango shook her head in disbelief swaying her high ponytail.<br>"She is the last." Touya muttered in response, "There will be no other pure butterfly demons born after her." His eyes traveled back to the demon lord who still held the jewel shard in his bloodstained hand. He was still watching the young girl. "Is that gem what you came for?"  
>Sesshomaru turned to the young man whose eyes narrowed at him in pure hatred, "No." He flung the object at his brother who caught it easily, "I have no need for such objects that promise great power."<br>"Then why did you come here?" Kagome asked stepping closer to Inuyasha clutching her bow closer to her body.  
>"I came for the woman who was promised to me." The demon lord turned back to the young demoness, "I will take what is mine." Was the last thing the stunned group heard before Sesshomaru and the girl turned into a white orb and disappeared from the forest.<p> 


	4. Abducted

Moonless Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of its characters**

Bright light flooded Sahara's vision when she was finally able to open her eyes. She blinked several times to adjust to the rays of sunlight entering the room through the large window she was facing from her position atop the soft material her body rested on. She slowly lifted her head to look around the bright airy room. It was large, probably the biggest room Sahara had ever seen, although, there wasn't much furniture in it. A tall wardrobe rested against the wall farthest from her and a door to her right led to what seemed like a bathroom that had smooth white stone floors. Her eyes traveled down to the very large bed that supported her body as she sat up. It was certainly the biggest bed imaginable. Sahara guessed it could probably fit her entire family with plenty of space in between them. It took up most of the room, which was still very large.

"Who would need a bed so big?" She whispered fingering the white silk blanket beneath her. Her eyes traveled down to her own body and found it bare. The kimono she had worn earlier was gone and she was completely exposed to the cool air.

Startled, she jumped off the bed and wrapped her arms around her in an attempt to cover her breasts from any potential eyes. "What happened? Where am I?" She asked herself scanning the room desperately for something she could wrap herself in. She took a step back to turn back to the bed to grab the blanket she had been laying on when something soft, but thin, brushed against her left shoulder and she let out a noise that sounded like something between a startled scream and a squeal.

Her head turned to see the tip of a wing at about her eye level coming out from somewhere behind her. Now that she had noticed it, she could feel the source at her mid-back and could control the fluttering movement. The feeling was odd. She could feel every muscle in her back, some she didn't even know she had. Sahara was so fascinated by this discovery that she found herself in a daze-like state trying to figure out how to control the movement of her wings. She began to walk around the room and discovered that if she stood up straight with her shoulders back her wings folded back and together. Almost completely out of her way, but it was slightly difficult to sit with them. If only she could figure out how to make them disappear.

At this moment, there was a small knock at the door before it was slowly opened. Horrified, Sahara stumbled backwards on the bed attempting to cover her exposed womanhood and her breasts from her intruder. A young looking demon hurried in after laying dark brown eyes on Sahara. She made her way towards the younger demoness looking her over with an intrigued expression on her slightly amused face. Sahara watched the woman closely as she gracefully came to stand in front of her. She had pale skin and long dark blue hair that flowed out around her. Some small flowery ornaments decorated her hair to frame her face, to show she was of some authority, but she wasn't exactly a noble. Long eye lashes adorned her eyes giving them a darker look while her lips were a deep red color. Long-sleeved robes framed her perfectly body elegantly, identifying every womanly curve such as her wide hips and huge breasts.

The new demon gave Sahara a small smile folding her arms so that her hands were tucked inside her sleeves across her body, "So, you are the last butterfly demon everyone in the palace has been talking about. No wonder Lord Sesshomaru has taken an interest in you." Her tone sent a shiver down Sahara's spine. Something about this woman caused warnings to course through her body.

"Who are you?" Sahara asked tentatively causing the woman to chuckle menacingly.

"You may call me Lady Akime. I am to be watching over you for the length of time Lord Sesshomaru desires you to remain here." Akime turned from Sahara to look inside the wardrobe resting against the wall behind her, but Sahara heard her mumble something that sounded like, "Hopefully it will not be very long", under her breath. Sahara was confused.

"Lord Sesshomaru? As in The demon Lord of the West? What would he want with me?"

Akime turned around pulling out a silk long kimono and laid it out on the bed next to Sahara. She then went back to pull out a pair of beautiful pink sandals to match the Sakura petals that decorated the white kimono. "The lord does as he pleases when he pleases. No questions asked. You might want to remember that when he sees you." She then motioned for the younger girl to stand, which she obeyed still covering her breasts. Akime looked her over one last time before eyeing the wings that were fluttering nervously behind Sahara. "You might want to do something about your wings if I am to bathe you, unless you want them ruined. Doesn't matter either way to me."

Sahara turned her head to lock her blue eyes on the rainbow colored wings behind her. "I'm afraid I don't know how. I just discovered them myself not too long ago."

Akime seemed irritated at this. She rolled her eyes and moved towards the bathroom. "Well you better figure it out. I'm going to get your bath ready. The Lord would like to see you as soon as possible."

Sahara turned back to the girl who had disappeared through the other door. What was she supposed to do now?

Meanwhile...

Touya collapsed in defeat on the hardwood floor next to his half-sister, Akina. He had brought the half-demon, InuYasha, and his friends back to the small hut that was his home. They all looked disappointed and contemplative as Akina began to pass around tea at their table.

"I can't believe it." Touya finally spoke his small cat ears now gone from his head. "I let that bastard get away."

"Don't worry, Touya. We will get Sahara back !" Kagome said reassuringly.

Miroku cleared his throat from across the table eyeing Touya. "Sesshomaru said something about your sister belonging to him. Can you clarify that?"

Touya glanced over at his sister who just stared back at her older brother. Akina sighed down at the table looking into the small clay cup. "Unfortunately, we don't know that story. You see, Touya, Gwen, and I are all related. Touya is half-brother to Gwen and me, but Sahara and Kindra were taken in by our father."

"I see." Miroku scratched his chin absently.

"How did that come to be?" Sango suddenly asked, "I mean it's rare to see butterfly demons. How did Sahara end up here?"

Akina answered politely since Touya seemed distracted by his own thoughts, "Well, you see, our father kind of has a way with women." She twirled a lock of brown hair in-between her fingers, "It's not like he means to. They are just somehow attracted to him, especially demon women."

"Hmm… A way with the ladies without meaning to, you say?" Miroku mused to himself, "I must meet this charming man."

"Miroku!" Sango hit him over the head receiving a muffled "Ouch!" from the young monk.

"As you have probably guessed," Akina went on in her sweet voice ignoring the interruption, "Touya's mother was a cat demon, but she had passed on during child birth. A few years afterwards, Gwen and I were born. Our mother was human and she was the kindest, gentlest person you could possibly imagine. But…" Akina trailed off sadly looking to her brother to finish.

"She was plagued with some rare disease which there was no cure for. Not long after that, Sahara's mother fell in love with father." Touya clutched the cup in his hands. "She was a full butterfly demon and a beautiful one at that. It was understandable that father fell for her so soon. It distracted him from the last two lovers he had lost. However," He paused glancing up to see everyone staring at him waiting for him to continue. Even InuYasha, who sat in the doorway couldn't help but be intrigued, "Sahara's mother felt it was her duty as the last female butterfly demon to bear another. So, she left in search of the demon lord to the North."

"The last male butterfly demon was a lord at the north." Sango whispered. "He died recently, didn't he?"

The siblings shrugged

"So how does that explain Sahara? Shouldn't she be with her parents?" Shippo suddenly jumped on to Kagome's shoulder.

"Now, we don't know much about this part, but what we gather…" Akina looked at her brother.

"That particular lord wasn't the type of man Sahara's mother wanted to be with. So, she left him and returned here." Touya clenched his fists tightly on the low table they sat at. "She returned here with Sahara, but she couldn't…" He trailed off his anger getting the better of him.

"She couldn't what?" Kagome urged on gently.

"Something about Sahara caused Sarylah to remember the lord butterfly demon." A firm male voice answered from somewhere in the back of the hut.

All eyes turned to look behind Akina where an older man, probably in his forties, stood next to a young woman about the same age as Akina and looked very much similar to the older woman. She introduced herself as Gwen. The older man's brown eyes looked over the visitors before coming to rest upon his offspring. "Where is your sister?"

Touya looked away ashamed, "The Lord of the West took her."

The older man shook his head sadly kneeling down between Akina and Gwen who had already seated herself and passed her father a cup of tea.

"So, he has finally come for her?" He took a sip as Touya almost bolted to his feet in shock.

"You knew? Father, how could-"

"Calm yourself, my son, and I will tell you the story just as Sarylah told me." He set the old cup down before giving his guests a warm smile, "First, introduce me to your friends. I am their father, Okumo."


	5. Sarylah's Story

**Discalmer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters!**

**Hello, Everyone! I'm so very sorry this took me so long to update! I've been really struggling with this chapter. Also, I didn't realize, for ****waterer reason, I accidentally kept calling Rima, (Sahara's oldest sister) Akina in the last chapter. I will make this change as soon as I can, but I wanted to address it so there is no confusion. HER NAME IS RIMA! :)**

Sahara turned her head to look back at her wings with curious eyes and they fluttered in response. Perhaps, she thought, they could go back the same way the had come out? She tried to remember what had transpired in the forest earlier. She sat on the bed and covered her face with her hands trying to concentrate.

Her thoughts brought her back to the river where she had seen the two demons fighting. She remembered feeling mesmerized by the battle and how odd the man in red looked with dog ears on his head. And then there with the other male dressed in white, with long silver hair. Her heart began to beat violently in her chest. She dropped her hands from her face and quickly stood from the bed. Golden eyes clouded her vision, beautiful molten orbs that she suddenly desired to stare into. Suddenly, nothing else mattered, she had to find him. She felt herself move towards the door to open it when it was suddenly slid open in a hurry and an older demoness blocked her way, snapping her out of her daze.

"Akime!" Sahara stepped away from the door blinking confused at the silver haired woman, whose orange colored eyes scanned the room, "You are not supposed to be here, go to your duties downstairs, immediately!" The stout woman hurried towards the bathroom moving past Sahara, just as Akime stepped out.

"Forgive me, Rei-Lynn, you were busy, and I had noticed that our guest had already been awoken. I thought I could be of more help here." Akime explained with a tight smile.

"Lady Sahara is not to be of any concern to you!" The woman whom Akime called Rei-Lynn seemed rather annoyed at the younger demoness, "You are needed downstairs to attend to Rin. That is your duty."

Akime's face immediately scowled, "I don't see why I have to entertain a human child, when she is perfectly content with picking flowers all day long."

"Content or not, Lord Sesshomaru wants Rin supervised at all times. There are other demons around afterall." Rei-Lynn pointed to the door, "Now, if you would please return to your instructed duties, I won't have to bother the Lord with any of this nonsense."

Akime huffed, but bowed politely and left the room, sending an annoyed look Sahara's way before shutting the door.

Rei-Lynn shook her head with a sigh, "That girl will be the death of me one day."

"Um..?" Sahara didn't know what to say, confused by the sudden turn of events and her previous desires forgotten, but the old demoness turned to her with a warm smile.

"Forgive her, Milady. Akime has some personal issues she hasn't been able to sort through yet. I suppose curiosity got the best of her and she came here without permission." She bowed lowly as she continued, "I am Rei-Lynn, I am in charge of all the maids in the palace and am Lord Sesshomaru's personal attendant, which is why I am also here to attend to you." She stood up straight again and motioned Sahara to move closer to her, which she complied hesitantly. "It is my understanding that you've recently discovered your demon form and that you've been raised by humans your entire life thus far, is that correct?"

Sahara nodded, "I was with my brother when he took me."

Rei-Lynn blinked at her, "Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Yes, I suppose it was Lord Sesshomaru." Sahara replied quietly.

"Do you know why?"

Sahara shook her head and then stared at Rei-Lynn for a moment, "If you are his personal attendant, doesn't that mean you know why he has brought me here? I'm just confused why a demon lord would have any interest in me. Akime said that the Lord does what he wants when he wants, is that true?"

Rei-Lynn smiled a warm, but amused smile as she turned to the bed to look at the kimono that Akime picked out, "I think it is best that Lord Sesshomaru answers your question about why he has decided to take you so suddenly. I was surprised myself when he brought you here. He does do as he wishes, but he usually has a very good reason. I am aware as to what your purpose is in his life and that he has been searching for you for some time now. However, I believe full heartedly that Lord Sesshomaru should be the one to discuss that matter with you."

Sahara tilted her head to the side, "I have a purpose in his life? I've only heard of him told in horror stories in my village."

Rei-Lynn burst out laughing at Sahara's comment, "I bet they were truly terrifying! But I've heard that the Lord doesn't needlessly kill humans anymore. I know he used to, but Jaken has said that they don't go near villages anymore unless it is necessary for Rin."

Sahara thought about this for a moment. If he cared to have his human companion protected and kept away from humans so he didn't have to kill them, could he really be as horrible and terrifying as the stories say?

"He cares for a human child?" She asked obeying Rei-Lynn's motion to follow her.

"Yes. Apparently, young Rin had been severely attacked by wolves some time ago. Lord Sesshomaru brought her back to life and she hasn't left his side since." Rei-Lynn placed a finger in the wooden tub to test the water temperature. "At least Akime did somethings right." She muttered before turning back to Sahara. "You should be able to get in now."

Sahara blinked to clear her mind turning back to her wings having been reminded that she still couldn't figure out how to get them to vanish again.

"Oh, of course!" Rei-Lynn captured Sahara's attention once again, "I forgot you probably don't know much about your demonic capabilities yet. You did just wake up not long ago. Lord Sesshomaru did say that you had fainted during your transformation."

Sahara's eyes went wide, "That's right! He took out a shard of something from my chest and that's when..." She trailed off hugging herself tightly remembering the intense pain that had coursed through her.

"It must have been very frightening and painful." Rei-Lynn squeezed her arm comfortingly. "But you will learn how to control your powers and abilities in time."

A thought crossed through Sahara's mind and without thinking she suddenly asked, "Am I really the last butterfly demon?"

Rei-Lynn sighed heavily, "You are the last as far as anyone knows. But I can't tell you anymore right now. We must get you ready to see the Lord."

Sahara looked away from the elder demon an odd feeling resonating within her at the idea of seeing him again. She fingered her throat where his hand had once been when he held her against the tree and began to think of his honey colored eyes that seemed to search down into her own. She wished she could stop herself from thinking of them, of him.

"Lady Sahara?" Rei-Lynn touched her shoulder gently again almost causing Sahara to jump out of her skin.

"I'm sorry! I just..." She didn't know how or if she should explain these odd feelings towards a man she'd only just laid eyes on and was slightly afraid of.

Rei-Lynn gave Sahara a smile, a smile that made the young girl wonder if the elder woman knew what Sahara was experiencing. "Let's get you ready. I want you to concentrate and concentrate really hard on folding your wings back into your body."

Sahara blinked a few times, "Will it work?"

Rei-Lynn nodded.

Sahara closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. She imagined her wings folding themselves together behind her. A tingling sensation erupted in ripples down her back as she tried to think of the rainbow colored wings to be sucked back into her back where they had grown out from before. A clap from Rei-Lynn snapped Sahara's eyes open to see the old woman's beaming face.

"You did it!" She exclaimed happily.

Sahara turned to her back and sure enough, the wings were gone. Her eyes lit up in wonder, had they really gone back into her back? But she hadn't felt any pain as she thought she might have.

"Come into the tub, Milady. We must rid you of the cat smell, Lord Sesshomaru doesn't appreciate cats very much."

"Cat smell? But I haven't been-" She stopped herself, "Touya.." She looked outside of the room and to the window of the bedroom across from her. "I wonder what they are doing."

After the siblings introduced the group to their father, Okumo took another sip of tea before speaking again, "It had only been a few months that Sarylah actually lived with us." Okumo began the story of his late lover. "She was happy, but she was plagued with some sort of secret that I was unaware of until right before she was killed."

"What was that?" Touya leaned in closer.

"Well, that's another story that I'm not sure I should tell you before telling Sahara." The older man mused at Touya's expression before continuing, "Anyway, she felt..." He paused stroking his dark beard in thought, "Well, maybe I should tell you a little history before I tell you why she made the decision to see the butterfly demon to the north."

"When the wars between demons and humans began, the butterfly demons were arguing amongst themselves. You see, butterfly demons are unlike the stereotypical evil monsters that are told in children stories and a lot of the demons you generally see today. They are a peaceful race and they were content in mingling with both humans and demons since they could easily manipulate their appearances to be either. However, some felt that it was their duty to fall back on their demonic heritage and help the opposing demons fight the humans. Whilst the others wanted no part in the war, so they fled to some unknown place. Sarylah's family was the majority of that portion that were against participating in the war, but she refused to leave her homeland.

Sarylah's parents were nobles. Her mother, I've been told, was a very stubborn woman and was very controlling over Sarylah's life after the death of her late husband. So, obviously, she was completely opposed to Sarylah's decision to stay behind. So, she disowned her daughter and left with the clan to the unknown world, leaving Sarylah behind.

A very long time after that, I came to meet Sarylah. We fell in love and she took care of Touya, Rima, and Gwen as if they were her own. She was so beautiful and so full of wonder, happiness, and adventure. When she told me she was ready to settle down and live with me and my children I was ecstatic. I felt like everything was finally falling into place. Unfortunately, that would never be."

Okumo sighed glancing down at his tea cup before taking a sip and looking back at his audience with solemn eyes.

"Word of the remaining butterfly demon race that had also remained being obliterated began to spread and it wasn't long before it reached us. Sarylah became depressed thinking of the loss of her people. There was no way of knowing whether or not her family and the few other butterfly demons who had left were still alive in the other place in which they fled. But she said she still knew of one remaining male butterfly demon. A lord at the North who had broken off from her clan and led the other butterfly demons into the war, still resided there. She began talking about how they were the last and it was their duty to keep their race alive. So, one day, she left."

"She just up and left you?" Kagome leaned forward her eyes wide.

"Yes." Okumo sighed heavily. "I understand she had her reasons and I have come to terms with it. She did come back, but over a year had past before she did."

"She should've just stayed gone." Touya muttered.

"Touya!" Rima scolded, "Thats disrespectful!"

Okumo shook his head at his eldest daughter, "Let it go. I understand his feelings and he is entitled to them."

"When she did return, she had brought Sahara with her, wrapped in a pale red cloth." Gwen smiled remembering the day. "It was bright and sunny and Sahara was a beautiful baby. However, we knew she was a demon. She had her tiny pointed ears and fangs and a red marking shaped like a heart on her forehead. We had to hide her from the villagers until Sarylah brought the jewel shard."

"How was the piece of the sacred jewel shard obtained?" Sango suddenly asked. "It's only been a few years since its been shattered."

Okumo began scratching his beard again, "Sacred Jewel shard, you say? I don't remember Sarylah ever mentioning a sacred jewel shard before. She said she got the fragment of a crystal that would hide Sahara's true self so that she could live in the village with us. She placed it in Sahara's chest when Sahara began walking a few months after they arrived. But I don't believe she ever told me the name of the crystal it came from."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Inuyasha said suddenly, "Kagome said the jewel inside the girl was a shard of-"

Kagome chuckled nervously cutting the half demon off, "Well, about that... I thought it was a sacred jewel shard, but it turns out that it doesn't fit with the other fragments." Kagome pulled out the half completed pink jewel along with a thick glowing dark violet shard that obviously didn't match. "I guess when I saw the light from Sahara's chest I just assumed it had to be a shard. You can have this back." She gently handed the shard to Rima who took it carefully.

"If Sahara ever comes back we could give this to her. It is the last thing her mother gave her."

"If?" Touya stood up suddenly, his ears pointed upright on top of his head, "There should be no 'ifs' about her returning! We will bring her back from that arrogant mongrel demon lord if its the last thing we do!"

"Touya, calm yourself. There is nothing you can do. Now that she is in her full demonic form she has to have been aware of her betrothal to the Lord of the West by now." Okumo took another sip of tea nonchalantly.

"Betrothal?!" Everyone in the room said in unison surprise masking their faces.

"Sesshomaru betrothed? I can't even imagine him getting married and having kids." Inuyasha recovered quickly returning back to his position turned away from the others staring out the door.

"Me either." Kagome agreed placing a finger to her chin in thought, "He doesn't seem the type to settle down."

"I don't think he has a choice in the matter." Sango said quietly, "My people used to tell stories passed down from old times before the humans and demons began to clash. When a betrothal is created between demons its eternal. It has been said that a demon could die if stayed away from his or her mate for too long."

Rima turned to her father her dark brown eyes expressing concern, "How long ago was this created, Father?"

Okumo scratched his chin again staring up at the ceiling. "Lets see, Sarylah said that she escaped from the Demon lord of the North by setting a portion of his palace on fire. The distraction allowed her and Sahara to easily flee. However, just outside his lands they were almost captured until the Great Dog Demon defended them."

"Oh my!" A tiny old man's voice was suddenly head from Inuyasha's direction causing the small family to turn to Inuyasha in surprise, "You don't mean Lord Inuyasha's father, do you?"

Inuyasha smacked his chest and let the flattened flea demon fall into his hand, "Myoga? What are you doing here?"

"I was just passing through when I heard talk about the great war and your father." Myoga popped back up with a smile, then turned to the rest of the group, "Although, I would say its highly impossible that your Lady Sarylah had the chance of meeting my great master." He sat down with his legs and four arms crossed over his body, "The girl I saw by the river could be no older than fifteen or sixteen. Lord Inuyasha was sealed to a tree about fifty years ago and his father would have passed about a decade and a half before then."

"If thats true," Miroku crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side trying to piece all the information together, "Sahara should be about seventy years old!"

"That does sound rather far fetched when you think about it." Gwen mumbled quietly.

"So, when she was saved by Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father, what did Sarylah say happened next?" Kagome asked.

"Well, she thanked him and began talking with him apparently. He told her about his son, Sesshomaru, and one thing led to another, then Sahara was to be the young Lord's intended."

Touya growled deep in his throat, "I'm tired of sitting here contemplating as to whether or not this is a true thing! I'm going to find my sister! The way I see it, its a hoax and Sahara is in danger. I'm going to find her and bring her home." He began to walk towards the door, but Inuyasha stood in his way.

"You are a fool if you think you can take on Sesshomaru by yourself, Kid."

"Move it, Dog." Touya hissed, "I can take on that mongrel with my own two claws."

"I can't let you go. It would be bad for my conscious if I allow you to go in like an idiot and get yourself killed."

"Then why don't we go with him?" Sango stood up her Hiraikotsu at her shoulder, "We could make sure they both get back to their family safely."

Inuyasha's golden eyes shifted over to his friend before looking back to Touya, "I'm sure Sesshomaru won't be reasoned with. In his eyes the girl is his and he won't give her up. It's just a pointless fight. Besides," He crossed his arms over his chest, "we should be looking for more shards and Naraku, not playing fetch."

"We already know Naraku has the rest of the jewel." Shippo stated from the safety of Kagome's shoulder, "If you ask me we just have to wait for him to make his appearance. So helping these guys out isn't really a waste of time."

"No one asked you, Shippo!"

"Inuyasha, don't talk to him like that. He does have a point." Kagome glared also standing. "I agree! I think we should go."

"Kagome! Did you not hear what I just said?" The half-demon huffed.

"There really is no need." Okumo looked at the group a solemn look plastered to his face. "Sahara is as much as a daughter to me as Rima, Gwen, and Kindra. However, she is a full-blooded, noble demon. I knew sooner or later she would find out and would have to leave us. Honestly, I'm sorry I couldn't have said goodbye to her, but I know that's where she belongs."

"Father, I'm astonished! You would just give up like that?" Touya shouted out of anger, "She is probably held captive, confused out of her own mind, while we sit here arguing about nonsense!"

"Touya! What is your plan?" Rima stood up to her brother, "You think you could just run there, grab her, and leave? We've heard all the stories of Lord Sesshomaru. He is a merciless killer. You could risk getting Sahara killed too if you interfere." She sat down content her point got across to her brother, "Besides, we don't even know where the Lord lives."

Touya looked away shamefully. He hadn't thought that through.

"I agree with Rima." Miroku spoke nodding his head quietly, "We can't expect to go without a blood shed. Not to mention, we'd be going against something beyond our control. As Sango said, a promise between demons is eternal. I think its better to leave it at that." He looked at Okumo and then Touya who didn't meet his eyes, "I'm sure Sesshomaru will still want to go after Naraku for his own personal reasons and he won't take Sahara with him, seeing as how she is intended to bear his children. When that happens, Sahara could get away and come check in with you guys. I'm sure she will miss you."

"There's no way we could go see her ourselves?" Gwen suddenly spoke up combing dark brown hair between her fingers nervously. "Inuyasha is his half-brother, right? You should know where he lives. I just want to know if she is still okay."

Touya's ears twitched and eyes lit up suddenly, "Thats right! You could take us there!" He suddenly placed his hands on Inuyasha's shoulders excitedly, "What if we just settled with seeing her?"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not really on good terms with Sesshomaru. And even if I was, I'm not familiar with where he lives." Inuyasha glared knocking Touya's hands away before turning from him.

"It would be a good excuse to find out." Myoga nodded his arms crossed in contemplation.

"I don't care to."

"Inuyasha." Kagome moved closer to her friend, "We have to do something to help them. What if something horrible does happens to her? This is her family." She turned from him leaning against the door frame staring down at her feet, "I'm sure she is just as terrified as I was when I was dragged down the well by Mistress Centipede and had no way home. Sesshomaru isn't much of a talker, we know that much, he probably won't explain things to her very well. He would probably just end up scaring her further. Even I hate being around him. He is super scary sometimes."

He eyed Kagome warily and quickly looked away, "Its none of our business."

Sango moved closer to Inuyasha her eyes dead set on him, "But he made it our business. We were there when he kidnapped her. These people don't have any means of defending themselves or her. We owe it to them to help her."

Inuyasha gave her an annoyed look, but Shippo spoke jumping back to Miroku's shoulder to be a safe distance from Inuyasha's aggression, "You did let him get away with the girl, Inuyasha."

The half-dog demon gave a warning growl to the small fox kit before huffing in irritation, "Fine! Myoga will take us to him, but I'm not doing anything except making sure you don't do anything stupid." He glared at Touya.

"B-but, Milord?" Myoga looked up at Inuyasha with hesitant eyes, "Is it really necessary for me to go along too?"

"Of course it is! You're the only one who knows where my Old Man used to live. Don't make me tie you again." Inuyasha warned exiting the tent.

The group listened to Myoga's complaints about being tied and having to go on the journey with them. They felt satisfied in being able to help the family.

"So, I think it's best to have as few of people to go with us as possible." Mioku turned back to the siblings and their father. "Too many will slow us down as we don't have much room on Kirara's back."

Rima and Gwen looked at each other and nodded in unison as if they had come to an agreement using some form of eye communication.

"We think that Touya should just be the one to go." Rima relayed to the group who looked a bit surprised, "Honestly, I'm sure we would all like to go." She looked at her father who nodded for her to continue, "But Kindra really shouldn't go and we need to stay here and look after her and Father."

Miroku nodded, "Very well." He stood up facing Touya, "We shall probably start the journey in the morning. I'm not sure how long the trip will be, but I'm sure it's a long one."

Touya nodded.

"Please, feel free to stay the night with us." Okumo smiled standing as well, "We are about to get dinner started anyway and have plenty to eat. You travelers probably don't get much good food to eat."

"Thank you so very much!" The group smiled and bowed politely.


	6. Predicaments

**Disclaimer: I do not ****_Inuyasha_**** or any of it's characters.**

Enjoy!

Sahara followed Rei-Lin to where she claimed Sesshomaru's study was. They exited her room, moved through the wooden hall, until they reached a sliding door that led out to a field where some demon warriors were apparently training. Sahara gazed upon them for a moment her blue eyes scanning each man individually at a rate that seemed to only take a few seconds. It was strange to her, as she analyzed each man individually dressed in similar armor, her demonic capabilities kept surprising her.

One demon stood out to her the most. It was helpful that he was facing directly at her from across the field watching the other warriors practice combat techniques with long katanas. He had dark hair and deep hazel eyes. Despite these characteristics, his eye shape, his posture, they all seemed so familiar to her that she had stopped following Rei-Lin before she knew it to stare at the young man.

Rei-Lin noticed, however, and turned to the girl, a concerned look on her face as she noticed the determination expressed in Sahara's gaze, "Is there something wrong, Milady?" She then turned to look in the direction of the younger demoness's gaze, which caused the young man of interest to notice the two women who stood on the wooden platform watching.

Hazel eyes met blue and Sahara almost gasped as her mind began to put the pieces together. This demon resembled her village's missing headman's son, Keiji! Only his eyes and hair color were different he also had pointed ears and, as he seemed to begin to recognize her, she saw the tips of fangs from his mouth.

He took a few steps towards her, moving past the group, to stand at the base of the stairs that led into the field before them, "Sahara? Is that really you?" She slowly nodded in astonishment, his voice sounded exactly the same and he knew her, but how could that be? "You look beautiful! When we were kids I would never had expected you to be a demon also." He smiled warmly at her and she returned it shyly.

"But how could this be? You are the headmaster's son! How are you a demon?" Sahara asked.

"Well.." Keiji scratched the back of his head with a clawed hand nervously, he reminded Sahara of the awkward boy she had been infatuated with as a child, "It's a bit of a long story and I'm kind of in the middle of training/" He motioned back to the men.

"Pardon me, Master Keiji," Rei-Lin interrupted before Sahara could respond having forgot the old woman was there, "But Lord Sesshomaru has requested Lady Sahara to his study."

Keiji's brow furrowed a bit at Sahara's title, but slightly bowed to the pair with a smile, "Forgive me. We shall not keep the Lord waiting." He looked up at Sahara, "It was good to see you again." With that he turned back to the men.

Rei-Lin motioned for Sahara to follow once again and she complied after taking a short glance over her shoulder, "Keiji is a soldier for Lord Sesshomaru?" She asked.

"He is the captain of that particular group of Soldiers. Lord Sesshomaru keeps him in high regards." Rei-Lin replied leading Sahara across a bridge and into another part of Sesshomaru's castle, "How, may I ask, do you know Master Keiji?"

"Well, in my village he was the headmaster's son. He was very popular among the girls about our age. A few years ago, Keiji led a hunting party and vanished. No one could find him, which is why I'm surprised to find him here, I had begun to believe, like everyone else, that he was attacked by a demon."

Rei-Lin smiled at the ironic thought, "No, he himself is a demon. In fact, I believe this village you have come from was run by demons. Lord Sesshomaru had a few of his most trusted men govern particular human villages on his lands that were inhabited by humans. Usually, these demons are able to conceal themselves well enough that the humans don't notice."

Sahara put a finger to her chin, "I guess that would explain Keiji's situation." Her mind was suddenly distracted from the subject as an intense longing-feeling for the demon lord washed over her again. She placed a hand against the wall of the hallway to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" Rei-Lin was at her side in a moment.

"Yes. Are we almost there?" She placed her hand against her forehead, the coldness easing the fire building inside her.

"It's just up ahead." Rei-Lin smiled, the concern leaving her face replaced by a knowing smile.

"That explains a lot." Sahara grumbled becoming very annoyed with the sudden sensations that coursed through her. Rei-Lin began walking again and Sahara followed stopping in front of a door.

Rei-Lin gently knocked on the door she said led to Lord Sesshomaru's study. Sahara took a deep breath preparing herself to face this demon and get her questions answered. The strange feeling had grown stronger the closer she got to the room and now fluttered in her stomach causing her to hug herself tightly in a futile attempt to make it go away. A part of her was frightened to go in and another, unfamiliar part of herself, urged her to open the door and jump in there. As if some part of her knew whatever was on the other side was key to her own survival.

"Enter." A strong masculine voice answered and shivers went down Sahara's spine.

"Don't be nervous." Rei-Lin whispered with a small knowing smile. Before Sahara could question the older demon, she had begun to open the door, which led to a vast room full of scrolls and books with small cushions doting around. A man with pale skin and silver hair sat on a blue pillow across the room, seemingly to be reading something. Sahara immediately recognized him as the man who had pinned her to the tree with his hand around her neck. She immediately stopped in the doorway.

"Milord, I have brought Lady Sahara to you as you've requested." Rei-LIn bowed respectfully.

"You may return to your duties." He replied without looking at the two.  
>"As you wish." She graciously left giving Sahara's arm a gentle squeeze before shutting the door.<p>

Sahara watched cautiously as the Demon Lord stood, placing the parchment on a small table nearby and then turned to Sahara. Her blood began to boil at his gaze, the feeling she'd been experiencing since she awoke in the other room was much stronger now than ever before. She couldn't control the longing she had for him to touch her, although not in the way he had in the forest when she feared he might have killed her. Her eyes tracked every movement he made, every muscle twitch, every shift his honey colored eyes made as he watched her. She stood back against the door as he moved closer to her. Hoping that digging her claws in the wood would distract her from doing the things her mind was telling her to do.

"Are you aware of your circumstances?" He asked sending more shivers down her spine at the sound of his voice. She began to wish he wouldn't speak, fearing she'd give into this strange sensation coursing through her body.

She took a breath before replying in a small voice. "I'm aware that you have kidnapped me, but I don't understand how I could be of any use to you. I know that I am a butterfly demon and am said to have been the last."

The demon lord didn't respond in any way to this. He just continued to stare at her through golden eyes that expressed no emotions. Sahara didn't know how long they remained standing before he finally spoke.

"Do you remember the day my father saved you and your mother from the fire at the North?"

Sahara began to shake her head and then stopped herself remembering the image she had seen not too long ago. "I remember a fire and a man with his hair pulled back. But thats the extent of my memory before growing up with my siblings."

"Your mother made a pact with my father and promised you to me." He paused moving closer to her so that his amber colored eyes were burning into her blue ones, "Do you understand?"

Sahara began to tremble and shook her head quickly. The pieces of the situation was melding together, but some part of her didn't want to know what it all really meant. He began to walk towards her causing her to press herself as close as she could possibly be to the door. He was an inch away from her face, his hands at either side of her body against the door, before he finally spoke again.

"You are to become my mate."

His breath was hot on her face and the only thing her eyes could focus on were his lips. Her heart began to pound in her chest so hard she swore it would pop out. She was beginning to sweat now. She wasn't sure if it was just the fact that the room was warm or if the source was from his closeness. The latter being the more likely reason, she thought as she began to realize that her hands removed themselves from the door and reached up clutching his shoulders tightly. Her body began to move on its own and she feared the worse. Before she could gain control of herself she found herself standing on her tip toes to reach his lips and pressed her own against them. She felt as though her heart had stopped. A hot blush rushed to her cheeks when her mind finally cleared and she stared into his emotionless golden pools through fearful eyes. What had she just done? He didn't even react to her. She wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed or angry at this. Was he not experiencing the same frustrating feelings?

She released him slowly melding her body back into the comfort of the door, "I'm sorry. I don't know what has come over me." She looked away from him placing her hand against her forehead and sure enough it was burning. "I'm finding it very difficult to control myself since I've been here."

He moved away from her, watching her carefully. "The pact my father and your mother made between us will be very troublesome when I'm away." He stated walking back into the room and away from her, "Sudden actions like the one you've just displayed are not uncommon for a bonded female. I'm sure you have other needs as well." He turned back to her just in time to see her face turn bright red, once again.

"Why will this be troublesome when you are away?" Sahara glanced over at him. If anything it's been worse for her when they are together.

"You will see, I won't need to explain it to you." He sat down on a pillow and motioned for her to come closer, which she hesitantly complied, "You will remain in my quarters from now on."

Her blue eyes widened at this as she stood before him, "I can't! It would be wrong!"

"You will." His voice was cold and final. Arguing with him would be very difficult, "You'd end up there anyway, so instead of making a fool of yourself, you will obey."

Her blood boiled again for a very different reason and she clenched her fists at her sides. Her powers began to rage inside of her, "You can't just kidnap me and command me to sleep in the same bed as you!" She found herself raising her voice, which caused him to narrow his eyes at her.

"You will find that I do not sleep as humans do."

"Then what is the point in having a room with a bed in it?" She asked tilting her head to the side, curiosity taking over her sudden anger.

A dangerous smile crossed his handsome face and she felt something stir in the pit of her stomach as he rested his chin against his hand, "You will find out soon enough." Was all he said before the smile vanished and he reverted back to his emotionless self.

"I don't know that I want to find out." She stated hugging herself. She was sure she already knew what other things went on in a bedroom, but she wasn't too keen on finding out if she was right any time soon. He began reading over the another piece of parchement leaving her standing there left to her own thoughts. She was trying very hard to ignore the feeling that seemed to stem deep within her stomach. She wondered how long he would leave her standing there or even how long he would keep her here in his palace. If they were "bonded" then perhaps she would be required to live with him forever. The thought would have frightened her if she was still in her human form, but she wasn't and her demon blood seemed to make her feel brave. Regardless, she still missed her family and wished to see them again. Surely, this bond wasn't that powerful that she couldn't be with her family again. "You should just return me home, Lord Sesshomaru. This "pact" that you speak of has more to do with our parents than it does with us."

"It has everything to do with us." His response was quick and to the point. _Was this how he would always be?_ Sahara began to wonder slightly annoyed.

"But surely it isn't as final as that? Am I to be locked up her for the rest of my life as...?" She trailed off unsure of what to really call their relationship, but she continued over it not expecting him to fill in the blank, "I can return home can't I?"

He suddenly loomed over her, taking her chin in between his thumb and index finger of his right hand causing her to gasp in surprise as she was forced to stare into his honey colored eyes, "I don't think you understand your circumstances, Woman. The second you leave for any unsavory reason, you would cause serious damage to yourself."

Fear flooded her senses now, but it wasn't for her life, but for the lack of control she possessed when his face was so close to hers. When she could smell his intoxicating scent and his breath was hot on her face. Oh, how she wished he would stop doing that. His amber eyes locked on her blue ones made the world around them seem to disappear. "But you said you would be coming and going. Will you not experience the same "damage" you claim will befall me if I leave?"

"I know I will return. You, on the other hand, have uncertainties." She swore his face grew closer to hers and her heart pounded louder in her ears.

"You don't think I will return?" She clarified aloud.

His voice grew husky and his eyes took on a dangerous look, "You've already acted on the effects of the bond so I have no doubts of your return, however," He moved to whisper in her left ear, "I know that half-cat demon won't allow you to return."

She froze at his assumption knowing full well that it was true. If she were to return to her home, Touya, who was already probably furious about her abduction, would do everything he could to keep her away from Sesshomaru. In his eyes he would be protecting her, but... if what Sesshomaru said was true, he would essentially be the potential death of her.

Something warm and wet touched her neck causing her to blink out of her thoughts. One of his hands had moved to the back of her head holding her in place while the other pressed against her lower back pushing her against him. His tongue continued to travel downwards from behind her ear down her neck. She couldn't move to respond and began to wonder whether or not she was breathing. Her mind could only focus on the wet trail his mouth was leaving on her skin.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She stammered, her eyes trained on the far wall behind him.

She heard his deep voice chuckle lightly and he buried his nose in the junction of her neck, "You taste very lovely. And you smell of sakura petals. I enjoy it."

Sahara's heart leaped to her throat and she immediately made to move away, but his grip on her refrained her from doing anything as he began to lick her neck again. "Don't." He commanded firmly, pressing his nails into her lower back where his hand was as a warning.

Her body began to react in a way that was becoming more familiar to her. Her breathing became quick and heavy. Warmth was forming in-between her legs and she tightly clenched them together in response. Slowly, her hands reached beneath his arms and clutched his shoulders tightly. Her eyes glazed over as she allowed his scent to overwhelm her. A whispered question slipped her lips as she buried her face in the junction of his neck and shoulder, "Is this the same for you, Lord Sesshomaru? Do you suffer from these strong, strange urges for me as I do for you?"

He stopped and pulled away from her examining her face with curious eyes, "Arousal?" And then his lips were pressed against her mouth, his tongue parting her lips for entrance. Her eyes went wide in response as he pressed her even closer and explored her mouth hastily. "You are very new to this." He stated with a ghost of a smile. "You've never been aroused by anyone. The bond must've affected your attraction to others even as a human."

She suddenly broke free of the dazed state she was in and glared up at Sesshomaru at this, "I've been attracted to a man before!"

His face reverted back to expressing no emotion as he released her, "Attraction leads to arousal, but they are very different. You've never felt arousal. Which would explain your inexperience in this "feeling" you have." He turned away from her to go back to the low table.

A newly formed blush covered her face again. She began to wonder how many times he would be the cause of her blushing in the time spent with him. "Well, thats none of your business."

"I do believe it is." He returned to his sitting position on the blue pillow. "Rei-Lin should be back to retrieve you any moment now."

Sahara barely had time to blink before a knock was heard on the door and Sesshomaru gave the order for the older woman to come in and she bowed before him, "I've returned for Lady Sahara."

"I am finished." He replied not looking at them once again.

Sahara grew more irritated staring at the demon lord who looked exactly as he did when she first came in. _Was that all he wanted? How selfish can he even be?_ She couldn't exactly pin point the reason as to why she was so angry with the demon lord, but she was. Rei-Lin touched her arm gently and nodded towards the door, which Sahara exited through without another word.

Meanwhile...

Inuyasha led the others through the forest running top speed with Kagome on his back. "I don't understand why we have to help them." He grumbled for the millionth time that morning, leaping from branch to branch in the trees, "Its Sesshomaru after all. I don't like to meddle in his affairs."

Kagome starred ahead a determined look on her face. "We have to. Its not right for Sahara to be abducted and then married against her will. Besides, her family is worried we have to at least make sure she is okay."

Inuyasha wanted to argue his point that this time period's values weren't the same as the ones she was farmiliar with in her time, but knew that was a losing battle, "Feh!"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called from above, "How long did you say it would take to get there?"

The half-dog demon glanced up at the large, flying, twin-tailed cat demon who carried Sango, Touya, Shippo, and Miroku on her back. "At this rate? Probably a good couple of days at least."

"A couple of days?!" Touya shouted leaning over from behind Miroku, "By that time he could have done whatever he wanted to do to my sister!"

"Well, we don't have very many options here, kid." Inuyasha barked back dodging a tree. "You're lucky we are taking you. It would take much longer on foot or by horse."

Touya glared at the half demon, but reverted his gaze back to the horizon.

"Don't worry, Touya! With your sisters powers awakened, I'm sure she can defend herself for a while!" Shippo's cheerful face came into view over Miroku's shoulder. "My Pa used to tell legends of how strong the butterfly demon clan was before the wars. I'm sure a lot of that power is still in Sahara."

"Thanks Shippo." Touya tried to smile at the little fox demon, "But I don't think that will be the case."

"How come?"

The strong smell of fresh water touched Touya's nose and he glanced down at the long windy river that went off towards the far horizon to the right. "Because demons grow up with their powers and eventually get used to them. Sahara didn't even know she was a demon until yesterday. She is a woman so is led by her emotions. I imagine if she got angry or upset it would weaken her natural ability to keep her powers in check and they would be out of her control. She could really hurt herself. Thats why its so important for us to get there now."


	7. Side effects

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Inuyasha_**** or any of it's characters.**

Sesshomaru pinched the bridge of his nose firmly feeling a strong headache coming on. He swore he read the same letter a thousand times and he still couldn't figure out what it read. His thoughts were completed distracted by the blonde female demon who had been in his study only hours before. He felt very annoyed with himself for losing control of his own actions towards the girl, who his late father obviously considered to be a worthy mate for his eldest son. Perhaps she would be, although her personality seemed to verge on the feisty side, but in time he could possibly alter that. The demon lord inwardly smiled to himself for a moment, thinking of how much he liked it when she blushed. He placed down the annoying parchment he attempted to read and allowed his elbows to rest on the table supporting his chin as he gazed at the far wall thinking back on the proceedings of the last few minutes.

His test had been successful, it was true she was indeed affected by their bond. He had been uncertain before when she didn't come to his study much sooner, but all his doubts vanished the moment she grabbed a hold of him to kiss him. Perhaps she was attempting to control her needs as he did. She was indeed Sarylah's heir and the infant his father told him he would one day mate. Jaken may have found her, but he had been wrong on various subjects before so the demon lord didn't want to take a chance. Although, an unexpected thing did happen during their meeting. The great demon lord had succumbed to the side effects of the bond.

Immediately he discarded the thought, the memory beginning to conjure up some of his deep desires to rid the girl of her innocence so that he might mate her and spill his seed inside of her womb. No, he would not think on such things. His priority now was Naraku. Now that he had finally found his intended there would be nothing else to distract him from his goal of destroying the half demon. Or so he thought.

A knock brought him back to reality. He sensed the demonic aura of Rei-Lin and allowed her to come back into the study.

"What is it?" His voice was ice cold, his eyes still trained on the far wall.

"It's Lady Sahara, My lord." Rei-Lin began giving a slight bow, "I've put her to bed a while ago, since she said she wasn't feeling well, but I wondered if I may ask something, although I know its not my place."

His eyes shifted to the old demoness, but said nothing so she continued.

"I have noticed your scent is fairly strong on her after I came and got her, and wondered if you may have done something that could have brought on her ailment?" She tilted her head, her orange eyes watching him intently.

Sesshomaru shifted his honey colored orbs back to the wall thinking back on his actions wondering what his attendant meant, "No." He stood and faced the old woman. "I would assume that having done nothing may have caused a dramatic shift in her hormones due to the effects of our bond and that her need for physical affection is making her ill." He began to walk past the old woman and opened the door to his study, "You brought her to my chambers?"

Rei-Lin nodded bowing, "Yes, My Lord, just as you commanded."

Sesshomaru left the woman without another word knowing full well what he must do.

_Sahara moaned tangling her fingers in Sesshomaru's silver mane as he moved from her mouth to her neck nipping at it with the tip of his fangs. She arched her back exposing her neck completely to him as her head pressed more into the fluffy pillow it rested on,"Please, Lord Sesshomaru."_

_She could feel his hot breath on the junction of her neck as he lifted his head, but did not look at her face, his eyes trained on a particular spot, "Please what?" His voice was cold masking his desires._

_She squeezed her eyes shut worried that she wouldn't be able to speak if she looked at him, but she knew she had to answer, "Please, I need you to mark me as yours." She said in her small shy voice trying to control it from sounding too nervous._

_His breath was getting closer to the base of her neck below her left ear, where her neck met with her shoulder, just above her collar bone. She pulled her fingers through is long silver hair smoothing her hands against the naked skin of his back, feeling every slight twitch of his chiseled muscles at her touch. She couldn't open her eyes trying to prepare herself for the painful mark she needed him to make on her skin._

_Something wet met with her skin, a sensation she was familiar with erupting through her body, but it didn't last long as he lifted his head away from her once again and she knew he was preparing to come back down on the spot he had just licked to sink in his fangs. _

Sahara shot upright opening her eyes to find herself alone in the dimly lit room she had fallen asleep in. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her hair was stuck to her face by her own sweat. She pulled her hair away from her face and tucked the loose pieces behind her pointed ears, catching her breath as she did so. "It had all been a dream." She sighed with relief standing on shaky legs, smoothing out her white kimono that had rode up to her mid thighs in her sleep.

Her blue eyes scanned the room. A window was to her right and a wardrobe was placed on the other side of the room behind her. The door to the room laid to her left, opposite of the small window. Next to the door rested a shelf where armor and two swords resided. Across the room from that, a balcony door was open letting in a cool breeze and she moved around the large bed to it. _Was this always open?_ She thought as she moved out on the stone structure that over looked a vast garden. It was very quiet outside, but peaceful. The sky was growing dark, but there was a dark violet hue in the distance before her. Her eyes trailed down into the garden. Various flowers of different colors and shapes grew in a half circle, which was bordered by thick medium sized trees blocking the garden from the rest of the land Sesshomaru's palace rested on. The fragrance reached her nose and she relaxed sinking on to the railing of the balcony. She closed her eyes enjoying the smell of the garden. Another scent reached her nose, over powering the other smells, a flower she recognized. When she opened her eyes, there, standing against the castle closest to the balcony across from where she sat on the thick railing, was a sakura tree. It's pink blossoms resting in full bloom on it's branches.

"_You taste very lovely. And you smell of sakura petals. I enjoy it."_ His words echoed through her mind causing her to stand up quickly thinking she had actually heard him, but she was still alone.

Relieved, she turned back to the cherry blossoms her thoughts running over the time spent in his study, "Well that would explain his fondness of the smell of sakura petals, if the tree is right outside his room." Her hand flew to her mouth at the realization that suddenly hit her. She had forgotten Rei-Lin had placed her in _his _bedroom. _What would happen if he came in here?_

Her thoughts trailed back to the dream she had just woken from that had consisted of him and a heat immediately rushed to her cheeks. Why had she dreamt of such things? Her body knew, in fact, it had begun to crave him once again. To feel his touch, to have his hand tangled in her hair, to be pressed into him like she had been earlier that day. She wanted to be kissed by him again.

"No, no, no, no!" She shook her head turning back and entering the room, "I refuse to dwell on that any longer!" She told herself firmly sitting on the bed.

"Dwell on what?" Sahara popped back up, her face burning up as she turned to her intruder. _Why, oh why, did he have to come to his room now? I thought he didn't sleep. _She groaned to herself.

Sesshomaru stood in front of the door. He had apparently entered when she had been lost in her thoughts. He watched her, his emotionless orbs glowing in the dimness of the room. He was obviously waiting for her to answer.

"I-I just had a weird dream." She confessed turning her face to the bed so she wouldn't have to look at those beautiful honey colored eyes that bore into her. Hoping he couldn't see the embarrassment that covered her face.

He didn't reply, instead he moved over to a small table that Sahara hadn't noticed on the right side of the bed below the window. Her eyes followed his movements as he bent down, took a small, slender looking rod and brought it to the tip of a candle that immediately sprung up with a flame that lit the room. Now there was no hiding her face from him.

"Will Rei-Lin return?" She asked sitting back on the bed with her back turned to him.

He didn't answer her. She heard him move around the bed and she glanced up to see him open the wardrobe and remove his hoari. She immediately looked away focusing on her hands so she wouldn't have a reason to look at his strong, handsome body. Again, the odd sensation began to fill her senses and she pinched her finger. Pain would distract her from the longing, right? Wrong.

He was standing before her in an instant and grabbed her wrist pulling her up to her feet. "You need to change." Her confused blue eyes met his cold ones and she feared she would throw herself at him.

"Alright." She turned out of his grip towards the wardrobe, "Rei-Lin put my sleeping yukata in here, right?" She opened the door to find his hoari lying on the floor of the wooden structure and sure enough a light blue thin robe hung neatly above it. But as she reached for it she realized he was still there, still watching her. "Um... I could use some privacy."

She heard him move hoping he was going out on to the balcony, but instead he was behind her as close as he could possibly be. _Oh no! _She thought her head spinning at his closeness. She reached out for the door of the wardrobe to steady herself, but his hand grabbed hers and spun her around to face him.

"Lord Sesshomaru, please. I can't-" Her eyes lowering, feeling extremely dizzy.

"You are trying too hard." He growled pressing her against his bare chest. She closed her eyes trying to picture herself somewhere else but to no avail. Her body had control of her thoughts and they were focused on his steady breathing and the feeling of his warm skin against her cheek. Thankfully the dizzy haze was lifting at the touch.

His clawed hand still held hers, but his other hand made easy work of the obi tied securely behind her back. Her body tensed as the obi fell away from her and the robes it had kept together came apart. She blinked unable to move. The skin contact was calming to her and before she knew it she was relaxing against him.

Satisfied that she was content, he released her hand and brought his hands up to her shoulders. She barely flinched at the contact, instead her eyes slowly closed and she pressed herself against him. He slid the sleeves of her kimono from her arms and allowed it to fall to the ground. She shivered at the cool air touching her bare skin, bringing her hands up to press against his massive chest, blinking furiously as she attempted to pull away from him, only to be shoved back into his embrace.

"What are you doing?" Her voice came from within his chest as he held her close with one arm and reached for her sleeping yukata with the other.

"You will worsen it." He said pulling the yukata over her shoulders. "Put your arms through the sleeves."

Sahara did as he ordered without removing her body from the warmth of his skin. _Why is this so calming?_ She wondered pulling away from him so she could fold the garment together. She turned from him to grab the small white sash that tied around the yukata. "Can you tie this for me, please?" She asked pulling the sash around her waist handing him the ends behind her.

He took either side of the sash brushing his hands against hers briefly before he began tying the knot behind her back. Once finished, she turned back to him a slight blush adorning her cheeks. "Thank you."

Sesshomaru turned away from her and headed back over to the bed. Sahara closed the wardrobe and leaned against it. Her head felt heavy, but the longing sensations were at ease now. Was it because of his actions? Because he held her against his bare chest and kept touching her? Her face started heating up again as she realized what had really transpired. He saw her naked, well, not completely but she was certain what he didn't see he had to have felt with her body pressed against him. Her mind was reeling now and she couldn't look at him once again.

"Sahara." His voice was firm snapping her out of her worries and forcing her to look at him. He was laying on the bed watching her, "Come."

She hesitantly pushed herself away from the wooden structure slowly walking towards the opposite side of the bed and sat down a good foot away from him. "When you said that I was "worsening it", does that mean that you...?"

He leaned over to his left and blew out the candle he had lit. Sahara's vision adjusted to the sudden darkness in an instant with the help of the bright moonlight seeping in through the window. Sesshomaru turned on to his back and stared at the ceiling, closing his eyes, his body melding into the comforts of the bed. Obviously he wasn't going to answer her question, but she wasn't too keen on sleeping with him. Especially after the dream she had about him.

"You should rest."

"I'm not tired." She replied quickly, turning to look at the still open balcony door.

She didn't feel the bed move but his breath was hot on her left ear in an instant, "What is it?"

She jumped on to her feet, spinning around in one swift motion so that she was looking at him, his emotionless gold eyes trained on her, "Stop doing that!" She folded her arms across her breasts that weren't being completely hidden from his sight as the material of the yukata was thin, "I thought you didn't sleep like humans do." Sahara interrogated.

"I don't." His voice was still calm and cold as usual.

"So, what are you doing?" She pointed at him still laying on the bed, half naked.

He sat up staring at her, golden eyes never giving away what he was thinking, "You were talking in your sleep."

Now her cheeks were burning furiously as if that was reason enough to be attempting to sleep with her. _What could I have been saying in my sleep?_ A variety of phrases came to mind, his name being one of them, but her heart quickened at one phrase she would never forget saying in her dream and she hoped beyond hope that it wasn't the one she had said, "_mark me as yours."_

If the room hadn't been so dark she would have swore he smiled slightly, but the room was dark and she couldn't see his face completely, only his bright, emotionless golden eyes that never left her and the crescent moon mark on his forehead. "What had you been dreaming about, Sahara?"

Was he teasing her? Her blonde bangs fell into her eyes as she lowered her head in an attempt to hide her face from him, "I don't know. I've forgotten." She lied.

Immediately as the words left her mouth, he was standing before her, his index finger and thumb finding a familiar place on her chin forcing her to look into his golden pools. "Don't lie to me. You will do well not to forget that I can tell when I'm being lied to." She stared almost fearful into his eyes. Her mother promised her to a man who she couldn't lie to. Great.

Sesshomaru's breath was on her face again and she could smell his scent intoxicating her now. "I can't tell you." She murmured afraid he would make her tell him regardless. Her mind was starting to be reminded of the time he last grabbed her like this and he had lowered his mouth to her neck. The feeling, arousal as he called it, started to burn up inside her again.

"Oh?"

She was trembling now her eyes about to glaze over, if she gave in to her body's desires maybe she could hide within herself. She allowed her eyes to explore his face. His two magenta strips on each of his cheeks that pointed in to his nose, the crescent moon mark that adorned his forehead, and his beautiful honey colored eyes that she could not stray away from. She realized she needed him to kiss her now more than ever before. Her lips parted slightly whilst her hands reached up to cup his face resulting in him narrowing his eyes at her, "I need you to." She whispered, "Please."

He released his grasp on her chin allowing her to bring herself closer to his face where she pressed her lips to his, but like he had observed earlier, she was very new to this and her shyness was not making it any easier. She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do. Her hands lowered themselves to settle gently on his bare and obviously strong shoulders.

A growl erupted from deep within his chest and he suddenly grabbed her by her waist and brought her up fully against his body so that she wasn't missing a single detail about his physical being. She moaned pulling her head away so she could breathe, but Sesshomaru's mouth came back down on her deepening the kiss. The claws of his right hand tangled in her hair, while the other hand lowered to the small of her back. His tongue forcing entry into her mouth and explored it hungrily. Bending her slightly backwards, she dug her nails into the skin of his shoulders to support herself.

Sahara's mind was lost in a vast blankness unable to think of anything except the fierceness of his kiss and his hands that pressed into her body like he never wanted to let her go. Sahara was experiencing heavenly bliss for the first time since she had arrived there and she didn't want it to end.

Before she knew it, her back was being pressed into the soft cushion of the mattress and his mouth left hers to look upon her, his eyes still narrowed as they had been before she kissed him. Her heart was racing and she was gasping for air. Her hands slid down his muscled arms stopping at his elbows. Her eyes trailed from his bare, strong chest that hovered above her up to his face where she stared into his emotionless eyes. "Sesshomaru?"

He blinked his eyes slowly before removing himself from atop of her to lay on his side on her right, dragging her over to him so that her back was pressed against his chest. "Go to sleep." Her eyelids drooped, but she wasn't quite ready to sleep yet. She rolled over to face him, her blue eyes locked on his gold ones.

"I have to know." She began steadying her voice to not give away that she was nervous to hear his answer, "The side effects of our bond, you feel it too, don't you? Is that why you have come in here to vanquish the suffering I was experiencing?"

"Vanquish your suffering?" His eyes narrowed at her further.

She took a breath, why couldn't he make this easier? "By the wardrobe when you, um... helped me change." She averted her eyes shyly, "You brought me against you. I think I know what you were doing."

"Do you?" He closed his eyes.

She wasn't sure there was a name for what she thought him to be doing, but regardless she continued, "If you hadn't done that, I think I might have gone out of my mind." She confessed suddenly, although she couldn't place why.

His honey colored eyes reopened causing her to dive into his gaze, "So, since you are full of talk and questions, answer mine. What were you dreaming about?"

Her cheeks became rosey again and she bit her lower lip, but she took a breath and searched his eyes like a trapped prey searches the eyes of it's hunter, "I dreamt of you, Lord Sesshomaru." She answered shyly.

"I see." His hand reached out and gently touched her forehead. She flinched briefly but allowed him to touch her, "Go to sleep." He commanded for the final time as he pressed his thumb against the heart shaped mark on her forehead and she instantly closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber.

Sahara woke to Rei-Lin setting a tray of fruit down on the table next to the bed. She laid on her stomach her hand outreached on the pillow next to her as if she had been holding what ever had been on the pillow close to her. But she couldn't remember what had been there. She blinked to relieve herself of the sleep in her eyes and slowly sat up. Sunlight filled the room drowning it in a bright light. She turned to the demoness who smiled at her, "Did you sleep well, Milady?"

"Yes." Sahara nodded with a smile, but her smile didn't last long before she realized where she was and what had happened last night, "Where is Lord Sesshomaru?"

Rei-Lin turned from her, but Sahara saw the solemn expression cross her face before she turned completely away to grab something from the table. She turned back with the candle in hand, "He has left."

"Left?" Rei-Lin nodded, "Where did he go?"

"It's hard to say." The old woman confessed moving to leave the room, "The Lord never really tells anyone where he goes or when he will return."

"Is that so?" Sahara looked down at the pillow where his head had rested, "When did he leave?"

"A few hours ago, I suppose." She fingered her chin reaching the door, "He always seems to leave at dawn."

The younger demoness got out of bed and headed out on to the balcony, "Well, that explains a lot."

"My lady?"

"Nothing." Sahara forced a smile on her face and turned back to Rei-Lin.

"Very well." Rei-Lin returned the smile, her orange eyes searching Sahara's blue ones, "I will return to fetch you for your bath after you have finished eating." Sahara nodded and Rei-Lin left the room.

Certain Sesshomaru's servant was gone, Sahara turned back to the balcony and stepped on to it, looking up at the sky with determination burning in her eyes. She wasn't going to be kept prisoner in his palace while he was away. She had just as much as a right to leave as he did. Tonight, she decided, she would leave and go back to her village to see her family.


	8. Truths

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters! **Enjoy! ^-^

Sahara finished her dinner and watched quietly as Rei-Lin picked up the tray and set it aside before sitting in front of the young butterfly demoness. "Is there something weighing on your mind, Lady Sahara?" Her orange eyes expressing concern.

"Nothing really." Sahara shrugged looking over the garden from Sesshomaru's balcony. She had been stuck there for the majority of the day. There wasn't much to do and the time she did spend out of the room was in the garden below playing with the young human girl, Rin, whom Lord Sesshomaru oddly neglected to take with him. But her visit with the brown haired girl was brief since Akime had fetched her to study reading and writing. She let out a heavy sigh as two birds danced about above some trees against the setting sun.

"You've been sighing all day." The demon maid tilted her head to stare into Sahara's face, "Are you sure there isn't anything you want to talk about?"

There was something on her mind, well someone really, but she didn't want to talk about the demon lord who left her the night before. "I just wish I could get out. Explore a little bit. Maybe even go fly around somewhere. I am a butterfly demon, after all, it would be nice to stretch out my wings." She replied avoiding her caretaker's eyes to search the sky again.

"You want to return home, don't you?" Sahara glanced at the older woman, the crinkles around her playful eyes deepening as she smiled warmly at Sahara, "I know you must miss it, and I don't blame you for being homesick."

"Well, I never got to say goodbye to my father or sisters." Sahara confessed looking back into the sky. "When I saw them last I was getting water from the river with Touya, that's when Lord Sesshomaru abducted me and brought me here."

"What about your mother?" Rei-Lin curiously asked.

"She died years ago." Sahara's response was automatic, her thoughts trailing over the pact that created the bond with Sesshomaru.

"Forgive me, Milady. I didn't-" Rei-Lin began, but was immediately cut off by Sahara who was used to the apologies after someone brought up the subject.

"No, its fine. We weren't very close anyway." The blonde waved her hands giving Rei-Lin a smile before glancing at the sakura tree behind her, "I don't think my mother liked me very much." Sahara smiled wincing a bit at her own words, "In fact, that's another reason why I want to return home so bad. Now that I know I'm not human, I'm sure father has some very important answers for me."

"Perhaps, when the Lord returns, he will take you there." Rei-Lin stood.

Sahara shook her head, "I don't think Touya would handle that very well. He is very protective. Besides, its something I would like to do on my own." Honestly, she didn't want the arrogant demon lord going with her.

"Just don't get into any trouble with Lord Sesshomaru." Rei-Lin warned making her way towards the door with her tray, "I would hate to see him angry with you. You are such a sweet girl."

Sahara smiled at the compliment and Rei-Lin left the room bidding Sahara goodnight. She stood, stretching her arms at finally being alone. She breathed in the fresh air, smiling at the orange and pink colored sky. Sesshomaru hadn't come back yet so she assumed she had at least one more day left of freedom. She had been surprised that her desires for him hadn't flared up the entire day with him gone. She wondered if the attention he gave her the night before had been enough to settle her body and mind from longing for him in the way that it had. Then again, maybe it was because she felt so betrayed by him.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought, she adjusted her dark blue kimono that had decorated yellow flower petals on it. The green obi securing it tightly to her frame. It was about time for her to go. Soon the sun would be gone and the sky would be dark, with the exception of the full moon, which would help her find the river that was close to her village. All she had to do now was find Keiji. According to a maid she had spoken to earlier, Keiji trained with the soldiers twice a day, in the late morning and at dusk.

Sahara shut the balcony doors and headed out of the room, making sure no one was around to see her leave. She tip toed down the wooden hall towards the study where Sesshomaru had met her yesterday. She exited that part of the castle and walked on across the bridge that led into the part of the castle that her room had been in the day before. Just like the maid had told her, there were the warriors and Keiji. Her heart beat quickly as she hoped he would be willing to help her.

She watched on the opposite side of the bridge and waited for him to notice her. When he finally did, she motioned for him to meet her by the steps that led down into the grassy field from the wooden platform that surrounded the outer part of the castle.

"Sahara, are you well?" Keiji greeted her with a slight bow.

"Yes, I'm quite well, thank you, Master Keiji." She smiled warmly at him and he returned hers with a smile of his own, "I wondered, if I could ask you something."

"Anything." His boyish grin made her blush.

"Well, you see, I've seemed to have forgotten which direction the village is from here. I was hoping you could tell me." She gave him a shy smile.

"The village is dead east." He pointed behind him, "But does Lord Sesshomaru know you are leaving?"

Sahara immediately shook her head and quickly spoke before Keiji could say anything to stop her from going, "Lord Sesshomaru isn't here and I will be right back. I just need to speak to father about some things. We kind of parted suddenly."

"Not on bad terms, I hope." Keiji looked at her, concern filling his hazel eyes.

"No, not really anyway." She smiled, "Thank you for your help, Keiji. I should be going before it gets too late. I want to be back by morning."

He nodded understanding, "Be safe. We should catch up sometime. It would be good to talk to someone who was also from that village. I'm afraid I don't have very many friends here." He smiled a bit shyly.

Sahara nodded, "That would be great! Thank you again!" With that she walked back around the castle, staying along the outside hallway until Keiji and his group were out of sight and no one was around.

She let out a sigh of relief. She obtained the information she needed to find her home all before the sun set. Now, she needed to sprout her wings and set off. She closed her eyes and as practiced, concentrated as hard as she could on making her wings unfold from her back. She had figured out a way to make them form outside of her kimono so that she wouldn't rip anymore of the nicely silk robes.

She opened her eyes and looked behind her and sure enough the pointed rainbow wings were fluttering from her back. Somehow she felt a wave of relief at having them out overcome her. _Maybe it isn't too good to keep them sealed for so long?_ Her thoughts began to get filled with renewed questions, but she mentally shook the thoughts away. With a determined look on her face she leaped into the air, spreading her wings at just the right moment and gave them a strong flap lifting her up high into the air above the castle. A triumphant grin spread across her face as she reached the highest altitude she could easily breathe at turning in the direction Keiji had pointed her to.

The cool wind seeping through her long tresses felt relaxing as she hovered above the castle. She breathed in the clean air until she felt her lungs would burst and let it out gradually. The feeling of being truly free overwhelmed her and it took all of her will power not to laugh, dance, and sing at her new found joy. She had a task she needed to carry out before Sesshomaru returned and nothing was going ot stop her.

"Dead east." She reminded herself and sure enough, she could see a sparkling in the far distance. "The river!" She sped off in the direction, flying as fast as she could to reach it.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha rested against the tall trunk of a tree on a thick low branch while his friends cooked dinner on the freshly made fire below. They were about half a day away from his half-brother's castle, according to the small flea demon who rested on Inuyasha's knee. Kagome sat just below him holding a thick piece of meat over the fire. Her brown eyes were trained on Touya who sat between Sango and Shippo across from Kagome. The young half-demon's ears had retreated back into his head after he had managed to calm down when they began their trip to Sesshomaru's castle. Her thoughts began to consider ways he was able to make them disappear and reappear almost at whim, whereas Inuyasha had absolutely no control over his appearance. Was it just a cat thing? She didn't realize how intensely she was staring at him before his green eyes suddenly met her brown ones and she immediately averted her gaze blushing in embarrassment.<p>

"Something wrong, Kagome?"

She bit her lip not wanting to sound rude or offend her new friend, but she had to ask, "I was just curious," Her brown eyes reunited with his green ones, "How do you hide your ears?"

Touya gave her a charming smile, "Oh that." He pulled something from beneath his gray hoari pulling out a small fang that dangled from a black string around his neck, "Remember how we told you my mother died after she gave birth to me?" He had the group's attention and they nodded in response, "Well, she had been taken ill during her pregnancy with me. She knew she wasn't going to last and with me being a half-demon she realized for me to be able to live with my father among other humans I would need a disguise. She found an enchanter and had her fang enchanted for me to hide my ears. It works, unless I get worked up, and then it releases my demonic power and my ears pop out." He placed the fang back in it's hiding place safe beneath the folds of his hoari, "But it doesn't hide my green eyes so the other villages are still wary of me anyway."

"Oh." Kagome pulled the cooked meat away from the fire and slowly began to eat it watching as Shippo began looking for something else to eat in her yellow backpack.

"You know, I was thinking." Sango suddenly spoke distracting Shippo from his search for any of Kagome's yummy snacks that she kept in her strangely large bag, "What if Sahara finds a way to go back to the village?"

"I highly doubt the Lord of the West would needlessly kidnap her and then allow her to leave." Touya confidently retorted biting into one of Kagome's strange dishes.

"It is still a possibility thought." Sango looked over to the monk who nodded in agreement.

"If she did return, I'm sure she will wonder where her brother went and come after him."

"To be honest", Kagome chimed in, "I kind of hope that she finds us before we get there. It would be nice to avoid a confrontation with Sesshomaru."

Everyone around the fire nodded in unison, including the old flea demon sitting on Inuyasha's knee.

"Who cares about Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha leaned his head back to look up at the dimly lit sky, "He can't expect to keep the poor girl from speaking to her family every once in a while." Suddenly, Inuyasha briefly spotted a small dark figure zoom past them in the sky and he immediately jumped up, knocking Myoga down the tree to the ground, "What was that?"

The group looked up at him concerned, "What was what?"

He shook his head the object or whatever had zoomed by at such a speed that he couldn't get a scent off it, "Nevermind." He sat back down into the crook of the tree, "It was probably nothing. It was too fast to be anything that mattered to us."

* * *

><p>Sahara gently landed on the riverbank closest to the hut where her family resided. She concealed her wings back into her body and made the rest of the journey on foot. Night had just fallen, but she could still make out the trail that led her siblings to the river's edge where they would fetch water. Carefully, she crept through the trees hoping not to attract any possible demons. When she finally reached the edge of the woods she peered out. A fire lit up the front window of the hut and outlined the door flap that led inside. Her father and siblings were still awake.<p>

She jogged up to the entrance hoping not to be seen by anyone, not wanting to start a ruckus if any of the humans saw her as a demon. Once she reached the entrance she opened the flap, "I'm home!"

"Sahara!" Kindra jumped up from the warmth of the fire and ran to her older sister's side and hugged her tightly, "I missed you!" Her bright brown eyes stared up at her in wonder, "You have fangs and pointed ears! And a mark on your forehead! Are you a demon now?"

Sahara hugged her back and giggled at her youngest sister, "I missed you too, Kindra." She then looked over at her father who sat on the opposite side of the fire.

"Welcome home, Sahara." He smiled, "Kindra, let your sister sit down, please."

Kindra unlatched herself from Sahara's waist reluctantly and returned to her position on the left side of Okumo. Sahara moved to sit at her father's right side of the fire surveying the hut, which was oddly quiet for thisl time of day, "Where is everyone?"

"Well, Touya has gone out to find you, with the help of some friends." Her father gave her a look that made her think that that information should have been obvious.

Before Sahara could respond feeling a little guilty, Kindra interjected, "Rima and Gwen got married!"

Sahara shook her head in disbelief Touya suddenly forgotten, "What?"

Okumo chuckled poking the fire with a stick, "Well, Rima was well over due to be married. Do you remember Ren?" Sahara nodded, "Well him, and his closest friend, Mitsuguni, came by the other day and asked to marry your sisters. Gwen was so happy she nearly moved in with Mitsuguni on the spot."

"Wow." Sahara stared at the flames that danced in the fire pit, then remembered Touya, "But Touya is on his way to Lord Sesshomaru's castle? When did he leave?"

"The day after you were taken." Okumo looked to her his dark brown eyes unusually serious, "They should be arriving tomorrow or the next day. You didn't see them on your way here?"

Sahara shook her head in the negative, "I flew here. I did see one small fire on my way over, but didn't stop to see who was there. I can't stay very long, I should head back soon. Lord Sesshomaru has vanished and I took this as my opportunity to see you. I wanted... well, needed, to get some questions answered." Her eyes searched her father's dark brown ones.

Okumo nodded, "I understand." He began telling the story of Sahara's late mother just as he had told it a few days before to the Touya, his other two sisters, and their friends. Once he had finished he let Sahara take in the information.

"I see." The blonde girl stared into the flames, reminding her of the fire at the north, "So, no one knows where the rest of the clan went?"

Okumo shook his head, "the only thing that your mother said about it is that they found a way to the future and went there."

Sahara thought on this some more unsure how to react. Her mother had been disowned by her grandmother and Sahara was born out of a duty to the butterfly demon race? She mentally scoffed, how selfish could her mother be? The lineage would die after Sahara anyway. There wasn't another butterfly demon left for her to bear an offspring that would continue the race. Not to mention that if there was, her mother had betrothed her to a dog demon._ What could she have been thinking?_

"Sahara, there is something else you should know." Okumo spoke firmly, but then turned to Kindra, "Kindra, do not repeat this to anyone, understand?" The young girl nodded and their father turned back to Sahara, "Your mother never told anyone about this, but she entrusted me with her secret right before she was killed so that I may tell you when you were older and had come to know your demon heritage." Sahara nodded understanding, but knots were forming in the pit of her stomach, "The real reason why your mother had been disowned by your grandmother was not just because she didn't want to leave this time period. There was something else." He inhaled deeply as if preparing himself for a long speech, "When your mother was about your age, she fell in love with a human man." Sahara swallowed already assuming what was coming next, "She bore his child, a half demon, your half sister."

"I have a half sister?" Her eyes went wide not believing what she was hearing.

Okumo nodded poking at the fire again, "I don't know anymore about her, only that she lives with the father somewhere, most likely to the north where most of the butterfly demons resided before the wars."

"I see." She averted her gaze back to the flames a melancholy feeling sweeping over her. "Is that why..." she trailed off not wanting to ask the question, but she had to know, "Why mother seemed to not like me very much?"

"Not like you?" Okumo's voice expressed his surprise at her words his dark brown eyes growing wide, but she couldn't meet his gaze, "Sahara, your mother loved you very much." He paused watching her, "I'm sure she felt guilty at times, for obvious reasons, but I know she loved you. That's why she kept you hidden here from your father."

Sahara nodded blinking back her tears. She couldn't speak afraid she might choke on her words, but there was one last question she needed answered, "What is the story behind my father anyway?" Her blue eyes watching his expression carefully.

He lifted an eye brow at her and then rubbed his chin, "Hm... other than knowing your mother wanted to have you and that his is a lord at the north?" She could tell she needed to simplify the question.

"Well, I mean, why was he hunting my mother and I?" She looked back into the fire her body feeling strange all of a sudden. She felt like her body was about to start burning up, like it does when she needed to be with Sesshomaru. _Already?_

"I'm not sure really. I suppose maybe to find you? Since he was a demon lord you were his heir, assuming he had no other children."

"I see." Letting out a sigh because she couldn't handle her body's sudden frustreations Sahara stood looking out the side window briefly. The moon was at it's highest peak, she needed to get back as soon as possible. She feared the dizziness she experienced before would return. "I should head back. If I don't beat Lord Sesshomaru home he might be very angry with me."

Okumo nodded standing, he hugged her tightly, "Be brave, my darling." He caressed her cheek and Kindra bounced up and hugged her sister goodbye.

"You will come back, right?"

Sahara smiled ruffling the top of Kindra's brown hair, "I will surely try." She focused her gaze back on her father and gave him a weak smile. "Thank you."

He nodded and kissed her forehead, "Travel fast."

"I shall!" She called over her shoulder racing out of the hut, calling upon her wings and flew off into the crisp night air.

* * *

><p>Sahara was flying over the trees when she noticed a small plume of smoke rising up into the starry sky a few yards ahead of her. She wondered if it was Touya and the friends he was with trying to find her. She wanted to get back quickly, but if Touya was really this close, it would probably be better to see him now instead of forcing him to have a confrontation with the demon lord, right?<p>

Swooping down, she gracefully landed in the trees a few feet from where the campsite would be. She returned her wings into her body and started slowly making her way through the trees. A snapping twig caused her to freeze. She turned slightly to her right to find golden eyes staring at her. Sahara's heart leapt to her throat thinking Sesshomaru had caught her out of the castle, but she noticed these golden eyes weren't as cold or emotionless as the demon lord's.

"So, you got away, huh?" The young man stepped into the moonlight and Sahara could see the dog ears adorning the top of his head and she suddenly recognized him as Lord Seeshomaru's younger half brother, Inuyasha.

"Sorry." She let out a sigh of relief, "I thought you were Lord Sesshomaru."

The half demon snorted, "Well, that's a first." She tilted her head confused.

"Well, you do have the same hair and eye color. Aren't you his half brother?"

"Yeah, but we don't get along." He looked away from her for a moment, "Anyway, how did you manage to escape?"

"Well, I'm not really escaping." Sahara confessed timidly, "I'm actually on my way back from seeing my father."

"I see." She noticed the disappointment flicker across his face, "The others are sleeping. It is pretty late."

Her eyes lifted to the sky, the moon was a few feet away from setting. Reminding her she needed to get back her body continuing to ache with need.

"So, it's true then? That you two are "bonded", you can't get away."

Sahara nodded causing lose pieces of her blonde hair to fall into her face, "I'm concerned about Touya." She admitted.

"Yeah, he seems pretty set on bringing you back home with him." Inuyasha crossed his arms, "What are you going to do?"

"Well, I'm hoping to reason with him to get him to understand. This bond thing is a lot bigger than I think he realizes and there isn't anything anyone can do about it." She averted her eyes realizing that her objective was going to be a lot harder than she first thought, "I have to do this before morning. Sesshomaru doesn't know I've gone yet."

"You aren't going back." Touya's voice came out of no where from behind the half demon, but Sahara was already on edge to be surprised. She feared Sesshomaru would come out from one of the surrounding trees.

"Touya, please, go back to father and Kindra. Forget about this." His younger sister begged, approaching him.

He shook his head his green eyes determined, "No way. He can't get away from appearing out of no where and taking you so suddenly. You don't belong there with him!"

"Touya." Sahara glared at her brother, thoughts of her mother's horrible decision to leave her there with all her secrets beginning to consume her, "If I don't belong there, then where is it that I do belong? Because back in the village isn't the place for me either. Don't you see? I'm a demon! This changes everything!"

The half-dog demon watched between the two adopted siblings closely. Touya was playing a hopeless game, "It doesn't have to change anything." Touya finally spoke averting his eyes to the ground. "You could still come back and live with father and the others. You don't have to be obligated to that demon." Before Sahara could reply he suddenly turned to the other half-demon standing next to him, "Help me talk some sense into her, please, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha narrowed his golden eyes at the obnoxious half-cat demon, "There is no sense to talk her into, Kid. She-" He stopped , ears twitching, as he looked up at the sky, "Sesshomaru is close." His hand immediately moved towards the hilt of his sword at his left hip.

Sahara could sense it too. His powerful demonic aura overcoming her senses causing her wings to erect as her body tensed up. She was trembling as her thoughts strayed over the memory of his touch. She had stayed for far too long. She began to wonder if Sesshomaru would be angry when he finds her here. Then, she realized that would be stupid not to assume. She wasn't supposed to leave his castle.

Sure enough, Sesshomaru appeared through the trees to Sahara's left. Inuyasha turned to him growling completely on guard. Touya glared through his slitted, green eyes at the handsome demon lord. Sahara clenched her fists trying to stay calm and brave, but she knew deep down she was terrified.

"Why are you here?" His golden eyes glared daggers at Inuyasha.

"Why do you think? You kidnapped the girl. The kid wanted to make sure she was alright."

The demon lord's vision fell on Touya, who looked ready to pounce, then landed on Sahara causing her to immediately lower her gaze, "Now you know she is alright. I suggest you leave." He gave the two men a cold stare.

"You think i would just abandon my sister just because you claim she is alright?" Touya stepped beside Inuyasha to face the demon lord.

"Touya, please just go." Sahara took a step towards them, "There's no use in continuing towards the castle. I am fine. Really."

"This isn't about you being "fine"!" Touya brought his glaring eyes on to her, "This is about having a choice. I thought you wanted to choose who you would marry. It's all you ever wanted in the village. All you ever talked about growing up was how you were going to marry Keiji, remember?"

Sahara shook her head, "I'm not a child anymore and I'm not stupid either, Touya, open your eyes! I'm not human! All that stuff was childish. I mean, no one in their right mind would take me. I'm different. I have golden hair and blue eyes. I've been different my whole life I've been there. Don't you see?" Her eyes were brimming with tears now. She was focused on Touya, but she felt the brothers' gazes on her too as the reality of things finally had a chance to sink in, "I'm too different to even be considered for any available suitors in the village. I don't belong there. There was never a purpose for me."

"Sahara," Touya's voice was quiet.

Her emotions were running wild. She was frustrated with her brother, hurt by the information her mother kept from her, and overcoming with strong desires for the man her late mother betrothed her to. She was getting so overwhelmed she was finding it difficult to think, "If anything, my mother should've sent me to live with Sesshomaru's father the day she made that stupid betrothal thing between Sesshomaru and me. It would've made more sense and then I wouldn't have been lied to or living this lie!" She dug her nails into her palms the pain of their sharp points distracting her from shedding tears, "It's all just been one big lie!" Before she started crying in front of them she turned on her heel and flew into the sky disappearing in seconds

Inuyasha and Touya were left speechless as they watched the emotional woman fly away. Touya turned to Inuyasha his eyes full of solemn and guilt but was cut off by Kagome and the others who made their way sleepily to the men.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked rubbing her eyes.

"We heard yelling. Is everything alright, Inuyasha?" Miroku made his way towards them behind the young priestess.

Inuyasha glanced at his friends before spinning on his heel to look at where his brother had stood to find he had vanished leaving only his scent, "Sahara was here."

"Was she okay?" Sango perked up.

"No." Touya replied looking towards where she had disappeared, "Father must've told her everything and now she is emotionally unstable." His green eyes traveled to the ground, "I've been really selfish, you guys. I didn't think about Sahara's future in the village. I was so consumed with getting things back to the way they had been before all this that I..."

"It's okay." Kagome patted Touya's shoulder, "She will get through it and maybe things can't go back to being as they were, but she is still a part of your family and families stick together, right?"

Touya smiled weakly into her kind brown eyes, "Yeah."

"Feh!" Inuyasha glared at the two, "Just don't expect to loop Sesshomaru in there. He isn't much of a family person." Noticing the concern that began to cloud Touya's eyes at that he decided to change topics, "Let's go to sleep. We can figure out what to do with this kid in the morning."

"What do you mean, 'figure out what to do with this kid'?" Sango questioned following Inuyasha back into the camp.

"It would probably be best if I returned home to the village." Touya said before an argument could be made, "Sahara is right about everything. I think it is best to try and trust that she and Inuyasha's older brother will figure this all out."

Inuyasha grumbled something about their whole trip towards Sesshomaru's castle being a total waste of time before he leaped back on to his branch and curled up to sleep.


	9. Moon

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of it's characters.**

Sesshomaru chased after the butterfly demon flying in the air just in the perimeter of his vision. If her speed had been even slightly faster he would have had to rely on his sense of smell to find her. She suddenly veered off landing near a place the scent of water was coming from and he stopped just behind the tree line to watch her. Her wings folded themselves together behind her back drooping down against her dark blue kimono as she stared up at the sky. Gracefully, she slipped her feet out of her sandals one by one before resting them in the lush grass, letting out a heavy sigh at the softness.

A strong wind blew past ruffling her long blonde hair around her and sending the smell of her salty tears back to him. Her body remained still as she stared up at the full moon setting in the distant horizon, almost hidden behind the tall trees of the forest. She continued like that for some time before her head lowered and she cautiously took a step on to the water's glossy surface. Her body visibly tensed for a brief instant before she took a few more small steps. Ripples vibrated out from beneath her feet and new ones formed with each step she took. She didn't come to a stop until she reached the reflection of the bright, white moon, standing in it's spotlight before it would vanish from sight.

A few minutes went by before the butterfly demon acknowledged his presence. She tilted her head back, turning it just enough so she could see behind her out of the corner of her left eye towards him, "You are there, aren't' you, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Slowly, he made his way silently out of the trees, his cold golden eyes trained on her as she looked back at the lowering moon. She really did look beautiful to the demon lord, although he would never admit it out loud. Her blonde tresses billowed behind her in the cool breeze and the lake continued to ripple around her small feet where she stood on it's surface.

"I really do enjoy watching the moon." Her soft voice reached his sensitive ears, "Back in the village, when the moon was shining so brightly in the sky, I would watch it rise to be accompanied by the stars. To see it set like this almost makes me sad, you know?" Her blue eyes turned to him and she moved to face him, the moon barely visible behind the treetops now, "To see it disappear like this makes me wonder how lonely it must be to be the moon."

He stared at her, the wind continuing to dance her golden locks around her slender frame. Her tears had dried on her cheeks, and although her eyes smiled at him there was some hidden torment behind them. She couldn't mask the exhaustion that clouded her pretty features, not even behind that shy smile of hers. What was she trying to accomplish anyway telling the demon lord about her empathies towards the glowing rock in the sky? He began to question his father's judgement once again.

Sahara exhaled softly allowing a crestfallen look to overcome her face, breaking his train of thought, before slowly making her way back to land where she slid her sandals back on her feet and began walking in the direction the pair had come from, "I guess we should head back." However, this suggestion reminded the demon lord of the young girl's current situation. Just as she went to move past him, his clawed hand reached out, encircling her wrist, causing her to whip around to face him. Automatically her body took on a defensive position, her wings erect and ready to fly off, if she felt she needed to run.

"You would have faired well to remain in my chambers instead of seeking out the half demon." His voice was low, his tone cold as ice and he noted the shivers that coursed through her body.

"I didn't mean to seek out Touya." She replied clarifying which half demon she were to have sought out if she had, keeping her voice calm and then she paused to shift her eyes to the right, "Not at first anyway."

His grip tightened around her wrist and her blue eyes snapped back to meet his golden hues, his face closer to hers, "No? What changed your mind?"

"I-I wanted to..." She lowered her eyes again, this time to his dangerous clawed fingers that held her wrist staring at the two magenta strips that adorned the white skin at his wrist.

His eyes narrowed at her as he suddenly pulled her into him bringing her body against the armor at his chest causing more shivers to course through her body at the cold uncomfortable steel plate that touched her skin. His opposite hand that didn't hold her wrist entangled itself in her hair at the hollow at the back of her head forcing her to stare up into his eyes.

"You will answer this Sesshomaru." He took notice of the blood that rushed to her cheeks as she stared at him through heavy eyelids. Another gust of wind blew from behind her bringing the scent of her arousal to his nose and he growled impatiently, "Did I not warn you what would happen if you left me under unsavory circumstances?"

She blinked up at him suddenly snapped out of her trance. Sesshomaru could sense her demonic power begin to swell inside her, "I didn't leave to run away, Lord Sesshomaru, if that is what you are so concerned about." He narrowed his eyes at the statement. Why would he be concerned? She was the one who would ultimately die, if not by him than by the effects of their bond, if she chose to run. Then again, he wasn't so keen on the idea of either circumstance at the moment, "I left because you were gone, obviously you had no use for me, and so I went to seek out answers. I sought out my brother when my father told me he was seeking me out and heading towards your palace."

Sesshomaru growled again lowering his head closer to hers' so she wouldn't miss a word watching the fear flash briefly behind blue pools, "I would prefer it if you would refrain from calling that half-cat demon your brother."

She glared daggers at him in response, "_I_ would prefer it, if _you_ would stop telling me what to do."

Sahara made to pull away from him, but his hand that still contained her wrist dug its sharp claws into her delicate porcelain skin and she cried out in pain. His other hand that had a hold of her blonde hair released it's position to grab a hold of her other hand that was pushing against him and he brought it to his chest trapping her against him. Had her anger been pure and untainted by the feelings coursing through her at his touch he knew she could have attempted to throw him across the clearing.

"You will remember that I am your superior and you will do as I say."

Her body froze, blue eyes wide in horror like she was just realizing his status and who he actually was. He could only imagine the terribly horrifying stories she would have heard, and in this moment remembered, about the infamous demon lord of the west: the merciless killer. Her jaw clenched tight, but she bowed her head and relaxed her arms, "Yes, My Lord."

He suddenly released her, taking a step back, his gold eyes staring at the lake behind her. She watched him briefly before feeling the ground rumble beneath her feet. She whirled around just in time to see a large black worm-like demon surface the lake. The creature had to have been the size of two thick tree trunks in diameter and at least half of it towered over them by a good twenty feet. It screeched out a howl at the dimly lit, morning sky causing Sahara to cover her ears at the piercing sound. Something dark flowed from the demon, reaching her senses, and she almost felt like she would instantly be sick. Her blue eyes focused back on it seeing the blackness coming off the demon as if it oozed from it's pores.

"A demonic aura?" She had felt them before, never thinking they were something that could have been seen. But this aura felt different to her, darker even, than the demonic auras of the castle servants or even Sesshomaru.

The creature stilled and suddenly ceased it's long loud cries before rearing what would've appeared to be a head, only there wasn't exactly one. A large hole made up the end of it's body and as it turned on the two, Sahara could make out sharp spikes leading inside what she assumed to be a mouth. The thing didn't even appear to have eyes!

Sahara's body was trembling now, whatever demonic power she felt possessed when she was facing Sesshomaru had instantly vanished from her as she looked upon the monster in horror. The sound of cracking caught her attention and she glanced back at the demon lord, her eyes growing larger as she studied him. Golden eyes glared at the demon before them in annoyance as he lifted his right hand in front of him, the source of the cracking sound being his knuckles. The claws that had just pierced her skin moments before were now elongated and glowing a bright green color and she sensed the poison.

"Vermin." His voice was menacing as the beast lunged towards them. Sahara barely had time to cover her face with her arms in an attempt to protect herself before Sesshomaru had raced towards the demon worm, jumping into the air and slicing the thing in half with his claws.

A loud crash causing the ground to shake notified the young woman that the beast had fallen and she slowly lowered her arms to look over at the demon lord who flicked the blood from his fingers. He stood between her and the fallen demon starring at an object he held in his calloused hand. She was unable to remove her eyes from his broad figure. The sun slowly began to rise behind her, it's powerful rays dancing off his long silver hair. She took a step towards him a strong desire to observe him up closer filling her body and soul. His masculine features continued to observe the object in his hand seemingly unaware that his intended mate was watching him. Her eyes traced the stripped markings on his cheekbones several times before she realized she was standing next to him, but a small empty space remained between them. His beautiful golden eyes glanced over at her and she became entranced in his gaze.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Her eyes lifted to the crescent moon mark on his forehead between his brows. She longed to trace it with her finger. She began to slowly reach up to it when his hand grabbed her wrist again and he stared at her the emotionless mask on his face once again.

"You are tired." He stated when she made no move to escape his grip. Her bright blue eyes still trained on his forehead in a daze. He released her and turned on his heel clutching the tiny object in his opposite hand.

Sahara blinked when the crescent moon vanished from her sight and she stared after the demon lord suddenly realizing what he had said before leaving her with the torn corpse. "Hey! Wait a minute!" She was a bit surprised when he stopped mid-step and turned his head towards her. She took a deep breath, "That shard, what is it?"

The demon lord narrowed his golden eyes at her, "It's nothing for you to be concerned about."

"But..." Her voice grew quieter as her nerves started to kick in, "It's tainted. The demonic aura around it is... sickening."

He turned to fully face her re-observing the small pink shard again. There was indeed a darkness deep within the fragment of the sacred jewel, but he didn't find it to be too threatening, not like some of the others he had come across before. He lifted his gaze to the butterfly demon in front of him. Her blue eyes watched him cautiously, Her hands hung loosely at her sides.

"Does it weaken you?"

Sahara's blue eyes blinked in confusion at him, her wings twitching behind her back, "Weaken me? I don't have any powers."

"You are a demon. Of course you have abilities."

"Yeah, flying." She grumbled averting her eyes down to the worm demon, "I would have been this thing's breakfast had it not been for you."

"Hm." He turned on his heel making to leave again when her voice reached his ears once more and he gave an irritable mental sigh.

"Shouldn't we get that purified? You aren't going to take it back to your castle, are you?"

"Are you that concerned about it?"

There was a moment's pause before she answered him in a low tone, "Yes, it bothers me. I don't want to be around it."

He didn't answer, instead he continued back into the woods in the direction they came from. "I'm not taking it to the castle."

"Where then-?" She stopped herself noticing his dark figure disappearing into the forest. Barely able to see the long white fluff that towed behind him from his right shoulder. She let out an annoyed sigh before hurrying to catch up to him before she completely lost sight of him.


	10. Friend and Foe

Sunlight flickered in and out of the dense treetops around them reflecting off the morning dew, gold dancing among the green leaves. Sahara inhaled the sweet smell of the morning forest deeply as she followed the silver haired demon in front of her. The pair had been walking for a good couple of hours now in the direction they had left InuYasha and his group of friends. She had trailed back behind him her head pounding from the closeness of the tainted violet shard he still held in his hand. She wondered if the demon lord was planning to return to his half-brother to give him the cursed thing that seemed to be draining her of all her energy. She tilted her head to the side wondering if she had really flown this far away from them during her emotional outburst just hours before.

"Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going?" He didn't answer her or acknowledge that she had spoken. She let out a heavy sigh and turned her head just in time to see a blue butterfly dart through the trees to her left.

This was how it had been since she started following him after the worm-like demon tried to eat her by the lake. Sesshomaru seemed to be lost in his own world, ignoring the girl, and walking on as if she wasn't there. _He must always be like this. _She thought sighing for the millionth time that morning. _No wonder he doesn't have very many friends._

The only good thing about his silent treatment was that she was able to think about the things she needed to do. Finding her older half-sister made more sense in being her first priority since finding a way to get to the future would most likely prove to be the more difficult of the two tasks. But where could she even start searching? Or, the more pressing question, _when?_ She narrowed her blue eyes at the silver armor at the demon lord's back, about a foot in front of her, falling on the fluff that trailed behind him over his shoulder. Asking Sesshomaru for his permission would get her nowhere since it was guaranteed he would say no to the idea of her traveling around to find a sister she knew nothing about. Perhaps there were records or documentation that told about the butterfly demon heiress who had bore a half demon child? She tilted her head to the other side pondering the idea. Sesshomaru's study was large and filled with scrolls and books. There was a possibility she could find something.

The faint smell of campfire smoke reached her nose and she moved to the right side to peer around the demon lord to see the small group amongst the trees a few yards in front of them. They seemed to be heading out when the half-dog demon stopped and blinked his gold eyes slightly confused towards his older half-brother.

"Did you come here to return the girl, Sesshomaru?"

The demon lord stopped, narrowing his golden hues at Inuyasha before flinging the shard in his hand at his brother, "I thought you might want this."

Inuyasha caught it easily then proceeded to examine it, his eyes widening, "This isn't a piece of the jewel, idiot." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes further at him, "It looks like a matching piece of the crystal Sahara had in her chest." He turned handing it to Kagome who immediately purified the shard the instant she touched it.

Once the darkness evaporated from the tainted shard Sahara noticed her strength suddenly began to return to her and her slight headache had vanished. Her blue eyes stared curiously at the girl who still held the shard when she was suddenly engulfed by a strong hug from Touya.

"Sahara, I'm so sorry. I've been so selfish." He pulled away looking into her surprised blue eyes with his concerned green ones, "I wasn't thinking about the position you are in and how hard this transition must really be for you." He lowered his eyes shamefully, "I just wanted things to go back to the way they were."

Sahara smiled at him touching the side of his face gently with her right hand, "I know. I'm sorry too. Thank you, Touya."

Sesshomaru carefully watched the pair emotionlessly as Touya grabbed Sahara's hand leading her over to the others, "You should meet everyone." He dragged her over to the monk, demon slayer, the young fox demon, and the small twin-tailed cat demon. "Sahara, this is Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala."

Sahara bowed respectively, "It's nice to meet you."

"As it is to finally formally meet you." Miroku's dark blue eyes smiled at her kindly.

"You aren't going to ask her to bear your child?" Shippo gave the monk a look from atop his shoulder. Sahara blinked confused as Sango narrowed her brown eyes shifting them to the monk beside her.

"Now why would I do that, Shippo?" Miroku chuckled nervously under the glares of the demon slayer and demon lord scratching the back of his head.

"Um.. I don't know. Maybe because it's one of your bad habits around women?" The young kit stared into the nervous monk's face disbelieving.

Touya turned to Sahara capturing her attention again, "You have to meet Kagome!" He explained excitedly, "She is a priestess who came here from 500 years in the future!"

Sahara's eyes widened, "The future?" Perhaps finding a way to time travel wouldn't be so hard after all.

"Kagome, meet my sister."

The dark haired woman turned to the blonde demoness with a smile as she bowed, "It's nice to meet you, Sahara."

"It's nice to meet you too, Kagome." Sahara bowed slightly looking the girl she recognized seeing by the river the day she had been abducted. Kagome still wore the same odd outfit that showed off the majority of her legs and seemed to be two separate pieces of clothing. "Is it true you come from the future?"

"Yeah." She laughed nervously under Sesshomaru's stare, "A centipede demon named, Mistress Centipede, dragged me down our Shrine's well and brought me here trying to obtain the Shikon jewel." Kagome tilted her head to the side curiously, "Why? You look as if something is troubling you."

"I just... um... well..." Sahara's eyes shifted over to the demon lord suddenly aware he had stopped talking to Inuyasha and was watching her. He was bound to find out sooner or later, might as well get this over with now, "My mother's clan was said to have gone to the future and I was wondering if you knew of a way I could reach them?"

"What would you want to do that for?" Inuyasha crossed his arms fully turning to the pair of women.

Sahara glanced over to the half-demon, "I don't know much about my heritage or about what I am. I thought maybe they could help me."

"Even if you did manage to get there," Kagome tapped a finger to her chin looking up at the sky, "Japan is so big and there are so many people. I don't know if you would have an easy time finding them."

"Oh." She lowered her blue eyes slightly crestfallen.

Touya placed a hand on her shoulder, the touch surprising her, "Aren't you forgetting something kind of important anyway?" He motioned over to Sesshomaru who still watched the butterfly demon.

Her blue eyes met his gold ones, but only briefly before they lowered to the ground again, "No, I hadn't forgotten. I just wanted to know if it were possible."

Kagome's brown eyes softened and she took each of Sahara's hands in her own giving her a warm smile, "Well, there isn't any guarantee that you will be able to cross the well like Inuyasha and I can anyway. But if you can at least manage that I'm sure it will be worth the try, right?"

The corners of Sahara's mouth twitched upwards at the priestess's optimism and she nodded happily, "Yes."

Inuyasha gave the pair a wary look before glancing back at his older brother taking quick note of the annoyed look on his face. "Perhaps you shouldn't get the girl's hopes up, Kagome."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Sesshomaru who turned his back to them beginning to walk away, "We're leaving."

Sahara let out a heavy sigh before confidently smiling at Kagome, "Thank you."

Kagome nodded before remembering something. "Sahara?"

"Yes?"

"Here." Kagome placed two violet crystal shards in the palm of Sahara's hand, "One of them was the one that you had in your chest before Sesshomaru took it from you. The other is the one you recently found, but I was able to purify it. I think it's better if you kept them."

"Oh." Sahara scanned the small fragments with her eyes for a moment before smiling again, "Thank you." She turned to the rest of the group bowing hurriedly as she said her quick goodbye, giving Touya a quick hug before running after the demon lord.

A few hours later...

"Lord Sesshomaru!" The eight-year-old girl bounded up to the pair her brown locks trailing behind her in the wind, "You've returned!"

Sahara glanced up from staring at the two shards in her hands at the sound of Rin's voice. The imp demon, Jaken, who she recognized from the day he had come to their home was running towards them behind the girl struggling to carry the two headed staff along with him.

"Where have you been, My lord?" Jaken asked having finally made it to them standing next to Rin.

"Oh, Lady Sahara, you left too?" Rin cocked her head to the side seeing the blonde trailing behind the demon lord.

"I had to take care of a few things." Sahara responded.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru's voice was cold as he began to ascend the wooden steps to enter the castle, "Have Rei-Lin in my study at once."

"Yes, My lord!" Jaken hurriedly ran off inside the castle in search for Rei-Lin.

Sahara continued to follow Sesshomaru watching him carefully, _why would he want to see Rei-Lin?_ She became nervous hoping she hadn't gotten the older woman in trouble for leaving.

Rin looked up at Sahara, "What's that in your hand?"

She showed the younger girl the two pieces of the crystal she had obtained from Kagome, "I'm not really sure." Sahara confessed, "Kagome gave them to me."

"You've seen Kagome? And Lord Sesshomaru's bother, Inuyasha?"

Sahara nodded, but was interrupted by Sesshomaru as they finally reached his study and he opened the door, "Rin, go find Akime."

"Okay!" She obliged happily skipping back down the hall in the opposite direction.

Sahara turned back to Sesshomaru once the girl had turned around the corner and entered the room closing the door behind her. Sesshomaru walked over to his usual place behind the low table grabbing a letter that had been sitting there to read it. Sahara entered further into the room observing the shelves of books and scrolls around the room. Her blue eyes shifted to him briefly before she walked up to a nearby shelf and pulled out a book with a blue spine that had the word _Demon_ written on it.

"If you are looking for information on your heritage that isn't the book you need." Sesshomaru's cold voice reached her ears causing her to suddenly jolt and place the book back.

She turned to him just as a knock sounded on the door and Rei-Lin entered the room, "You called for me, My lord?"

"Sahara, give the crystal fragments to Rei-Lin." Sesshomaru ordered.

Rei-Lin turned her orange eyes to the younger demoness giving her a warm smile, "I'm glad you are safe. I was so worried when I found you had gone."

Sahara walked over to her and carefully handed her the shards, "I'm sorry." She repied, "I had planned to return sooner."

"It's alright." Rei-Lin turned back to Sesshomaru, "These crystal shards...?" She examined them carefully.

"One of them was suppressing Sahara's demonic powers and the other we found inside of a demon." His golden eyes left the letter and stared at Rei-Lin whose brow furrowed at one of the fragments, "I want you to find any information you can on the crystal and it's attachment to the butterfly demon clans."

"Very well, Lord Sesshomaru, I shall be in the library if you need me." She bowed to the pair and left the room.

Sahara blinked after her, "You think the jewel is linked to the butterfly demons?" She asked turning to Sesshomaru.

"It would explain why a fragment of it had been in your mother's possession prior to being given to you." His golden eyes bore into her.

Her blue eyes snapped away from his, "So, there is a library in this place?"

"Akime." Sesshomaru's voice called out suddenly causing Sahara to jump slightly in surprise.

The door opened and the blue haired demoness entered the room with Rin following closely behind. She wore a deep crimson kimono and bowed deeply to her lord, "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Take Sahara to the library and help her find a book with the butterfly demon history." He ordered turning back to his reading.

Akime's brown eyes turned on Sahara who tensed at her gaze feeling a familiar shiver run through her body. "Follow me." The woman said turning past Rin towards another hallway.

Sahara uncertainly glanced at Seeshomaru before following behind Rin and Akime, making sure to shut the door behind her. Rin began talking about all the things she had done earlier that day causing Sahara to smile at the happy little girl. But the smile was short lived when Akime turned her head towards the blonde haired demoness cutting Rin's story off mid-sentence.

"I'm surprised you are still alive." Her voice sounded normal, but her expression seemed slightly annoyed.

"Why is that?" Sahara asked becoming defensive as Rin's expression turned quickly wary of the servant woman, who had interrupted her.

Akime stopped to turn to the pair, a menacing smile crossing her lips, "Because anyone who tries to escape Lord Sesshomaru would and should be killed."

Sahara narrowed her eyes at this, "I wasn't trying to escape."

"Then, please, do tell what you were doing?"

Sahara didn't have to hesitate as her blue eyes narrowed, "That's none of your business."

The glare from Akime's dark brown eyes sent an intensified version of the usual shiver that overcame Sahara's body. A sudden realization struck her like a bolt of lightning out of no where, Akime had to be jealous! That would explain why she shot her dirty looks every time her brown eyes saw Sahara and why, on the first day Sahara had arrived, she had wished her to leave.

"You have feelings for Lord Sesshomaru, don't you?" Sahara found herself saying before she could stop it, "You're jealous of me."

Akime's face contorted with rage and she took a step towards the two, "You don't know anything! Lord Sesshomaru will get tired of you before long and will ask me to return to him."

Sahara shook her head in disbelief moving Rin behind her,"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't play stupid with me! You're pretty much a little girl, naive, and inexperienced." Akime sneered running a clawed hand through her long blue hair placing her opposite hand on her hip, "He'll tire of you. It's only a matter of time."

Something stirred in the pit of Sahara's stomach, a sudden anger overwhelmed her senses as Akime's words sunk in. Was she a _concubine_? And Lord Sesshomaru... did things with her? She felt sick. Horribly, unfathomably sick. _Akime must think that I'm a new prostitute for him, but he said..._

"I think you're the one who is naive." Sahara tried to keep her voice steady, but felt that it was almost impossible. She glanced at Rin who looked between the two women slightly confused before continuing carefully, "I'm not here for the same reason _you_ clearly are."

The disgust in her tone was not lost on Akime who took another step towards her, glaring menacingly, "Is that so? Then why are you here and why hasn't he killed you?" Her voice was rising with every syllable.

"It's none of your business."

Akime cried out as she lunged for Sahara's throat with her clawed hands. Sahara barely had time to lift her hands up to protect herself, closing her eyes in the process. Akime's scream of pain engulfed the hallway causing Sahara to open her eyes to find Akime on her knees examining hideous red blisters erupting on the palms of her hands. Rin let out a small gasp.

"What did you do?!" Akime screeched her eyes wide with terror and pain.

"I-what?" She blinked her blue eyes confused looking down at her hands to find them looking normal enough, "I didn't do anything."

"My, my, my." A male voice from further down the hallway behind Akime reached their ears causing the three females to look towards it to find a tall, handsome male, with long violet hair and bright hazel eyes, "A fire wielding butterfly demon. I'm impressed."

The girls gapped at him unable to speak.

"Your silence," He motioned at Sahara still making his way towards them, "tells me you don't know you possess this power, am I right?"

Before she could respond a familiar cold voice behind her spoke instead.

"Lord Takeshi, it's been some time." Sesshomaru came to stand in between Sahara and Rin.

"Ah, Lord Sesshomaru! There you are!" The demon called Takashi's face lit up. "Indeed it has." He gave him a toothy smile, exposing his pearly fangs, his hazel eyes beaming at Sesshomaru, "I had heard rumors you had taken in a young butterfly demon woman. I hadn't expected her to possess such great power. Were you aware of it? Being able to control fire at will is quite rare."

Sahara blinked in response to the light hearted smile Lord Takeshi gave her, but was distracted by Akime who suddenly stood up, balling her hands in fists at her sides. Sesshomaru seemed to have noticed this as well and spoke to her without looking at her.

"Take Rin to Jaken, he will look after her while you tend to your burns."

Akime didn't reply and made sure not to look at either Sesshomaru or Sahara. She did as she was told and led Rin away from them down another hall where the pair disappeared from view.

Takeshi approached so that he stood before Sahara and Sesshomaru, "A feisty pair of women you have, Sesshomaru. I could almost hear their conversation on the other side of the castle." He smiled teasingly running a hand through his long, thick hair.

"I can assure you, Takeshi, none of my servants are nearly as lively." Sesshomaru replied glancing at Sahara briefly, causing her to blush, averting her eyes.

She suddenly jumped as her right hand had suddenly been taken from it's place at her side forcing her to blink up into Takeshi's face that was now mere inches from hers. "My lady, I require to know your name as you now know mine and if I shall not hear it from your lovely lips," He paused, his expression withered dramatically as if he were experiencing great pain, "I think I may perish."

Sahara's heartbeat quickened and she felt her face grow intensely hot. She gaped at him as he held her hand close to his face as if he was waiting to place a gentle kiss on it. For a moment, she lost sight of everything around her and felt her knees begin to tremble. She felt she could swim in his large hazel eyes and be lost for eternity. However, just as she was about to answer his question with her name, Sesshomaru's stern voice filled her ears, snapping her out of her trance.

"Enough, her name isn't a matter of imprtance."

Takeshi's face fell in an instant. Releasing Sahara's hand, which fell limply back to her side, he pouted at Sesshomaru who stared emotionless back.

"Come now, Sesshomaru. Must you always ruin my fun?"

Sahara had turned her head just in time to a catch a glimpse of a small smile grace Sesshomaru's already handsome face as he replied in a slightly warmer, possibly even playful tone. "Why, Takeshi, you must've known by now that ruining your 'fun' is very amusing." His smile vanished though and he turned on his heel, "I'm sure you didn't come al this way to simply tease a simple woman. We can discuss whatever you like in my study."

Takeshi gave a hefty sigh, "Fine. Fine. Be that way." Sahara watched as he began to follow Sesshomaru back towards the study before he suddenly stopped and turned back to her offering his arm politely to her, "Please, accompany me, won't you? I'm afraid only your company can make the aura of any room occupied by Sesshomaru brighter."

His hazel eyes were enveloping her once again. They were so inviting that she almost couldn't help except oblige to do as he asked. But she didn't miss Sesshomaru's golden eyes which had turned back to the two, seeming to be irritated at this, before continuing on as if he hadn't seen it. Her body suddenly tensed wondering what she could have done to upset him now.

Takeshi began babbling to her about his history with wars and how he single-handedly managed to overcome them. She managed to politely act as if she was absorbing every word that came out of his mouth, making sure she didn't look him directly in his beautiful hazel eyes, afraid she might be lost to him again. Her mind was focused on other things, however; whatever happened to Akime's hands had to have been Sahara's doing, but she wasn't sure how she had done it. Takeshi had mentioned something about using fire at will, whatever that meant. And had Akime really been Sesshomaru's...? Well, she didn't really want to dwell on that subject. It still made her nauseas.

Sahara's blue eyes strayed away from Takeshi's cheerful face to observe Sesshomaru, whose back remained turned to her as they grew closer to the door. Somehow a deep rooted longing to be near him throbbed inside her and she began to wish it was his arm she was holding on to and not Takeshi's.

Akime wandered the dimly lit servants hall dazedly. Her small steps had no real destination as their sounds echoed off the walls of the empty hallway. The demon woman just knew she had to keep moving to keep herself from doing absolutely nothing having lost the one job her Lord left for her to take care of in his absence. The human girl, Rin, was in the care of Jaken who accompanied the girl in making bouquets for Lord Sesshomaru.

She closed her dark brown eyes letting out a heavy sigh as her body slumped against the stone wall of the underground hallway. Her plan to keep herself from thinking of the handsome demon lord with whom she had grown up with was futile. He filled her mind constantly. Akime covered her face with her soft, slender fingers that had been completely healed of the burns Sahara had inflicted upon her minutes before. The very same fingers that reached out for Sesshomaru when she had been afraid of thunderstorms. Her eyes reopened to stare at her fingertips remembering the brief moments he had held her bearing his honey colored eyes into her brown ones. _"You have feelings for Lord Sesshomaru, don't you"_, Sahara's words still echoed in her mind and her heart beat heavily at the realization. Her fingers curled up inside her palms tightly and an ugly scowl crept across the pretty features of her face.

"She took him from me." She ground out through clenched teeth, her temper rising at the thought. "I will make her wish she had never laid eyes on him!" With that she gracefully stormed down the hall towards the stairs that led up to the main floor where she quietly exited the castle, heading into the surrounding forest.


	11. Takeshi

**A/N: So sorry for the long update, you guys! I've been swamped with classes and had a very hard time putting this chapter together. To those who've been reviewing, I would like to say thank you all so very much! Your feedback keeps me going! I hope everyone enjoys chapter 11! ^-^**

Sesshomaru opened the sliding door, entering through it, and walking to the opposite side of the room to sit behind his low table. The imposing demon, who currently had the demon lord's bonded wrapped around his left arm, entered the room a few seconds afterwards. It took every ounce of Sesshomaru's strong will to keep himself from sending a warning growl towards Takeshi as he took Sahara's hand and directed her towards the closest bookshelf. Takeshi's hazel eyes scanned the bindings of the books residing there as he talked to the young woman about ridiculous stories that Sesshomaru knew weren't true in the slightest. However, it was obvious to the dog demon that Takeshi's attempts to "woo" her were not working as said woman's blue eyes wavered over to meet Sesshomaru's gaze briefly before Takeshi asked her a question snapping her attention back to him in an instant.

"So, just out of curiosity," The demon began in a chipper tone, running a clawed finger over a leather bound book, "What happened out in the hall? I've never seen Akime attack someone before. She always seems so-" But he trailed off glancing down at the woman who's blue eyes seemed to sharpen at the mention of the servant woman's name.

"I couldn't tell you." She ground out tersely shifting her sudden anger towards the demon lord who blinked, his molten honey orbs hiding the slight surprise at the sudden turn of events, "You would have to ask Lord Sesshomaru what set her off."

Takeshi glanced from the female demon to the other male in slight disbelief at the growing tension wafting off her before a wry smile spread across his face, "Oh, I see... Did you finally tire of Akime's company, Sesshomaru?"

Sahara's head snapped back to Takeshi her blue eyes widening slightly. _Takeshi knew of it also? It must have been true then._ She couldn't hide the crestfallen expression that made it's way on to her face, but was severely surprised when Sesshomaru's right clawed hand was suddenly cupping her chin forcing her to look at him. Takeshi was apparently surprised as well at the sudden appearance of the demon lord because he released Sahara's hand and took a few steps back in a single fluid motion.

Sesshomaru's golden eyes were searching into her blue ones emotionlessly for a moment before he spoke, feeling the woman tremble slightly at the sound, "Jealousy is not becoming on you, Sahara. This Sesshomaru is over a century older than you."

She blinked unable to do much else with him holding her chin so close to his face. She felt something warm and fluffy encircle her frame as she let his words sink in to her mind. He was right, after all, he was quite a bit older than she. As unsettling as this new information was, having grown up in a human village where relationships between a fifteen and forty-year-old would have been improper. He would have experienced a lot more than she had in the barely sixteen years she had been alive. They had only been bonded for that amount of time, right? Anything could have happened before then. Feeling a bit better about this she gave him a slight nod before they were suddenly reminded that Takeshi was still in the room.

"Ah, Sahara... as in Lord Soharu's heir?" Takeshi smile grew wider when he noticed the young woman blink at him, a mixture of curiosity and confusion clouding her face, "Is that why you didn't wish to inform me of her name?"

Sesshomaru tore his eyes from Sahara dropping his hand, but not removing his mokomoko from around her, "Why are you here, Takeshi?"

"I had heard rumors that you've taken in a butterfly demon and came to investigate." He replied running a clawed hand through his long lavender locks nonchalantly.

Gold eyes narrowed irritably at the slightly shorter male, "Don't take this Sesshomaru for a fool. She's only been here for three days."

A toothy grin overcame Takeshi's handsome features, "Perceptive as always, my friend." Sahara watched blankly as he turned from them to examine the shelf of books again, "I actually came here to do a little research into the past century. Mitsui is acting rather strangely. He attacked one of my territories a few days ago. So, I wondered, if your father had left any records of such things before."

"Mitsui attacked?" Sahara glanced up at her intended mate having heard the growl laced in his words.

"Strange, isn't it? If Soharu is dead, then why is his subordinate acting on his own? You would think he would still be in search of his master's heir, wouldn't you?"

Silence grew between the trio. All that could be heard was the crackling fire and Takeshi's steady hum as he read over the book spines. Sahara's mind was trying to connect the pieces, having realized the heir Takeshi spoke of was her, which would then mean her father was this Lord Soharu person. Right? Her gaze lowered to the mokomoko that still remained wrapped around her. Her slender fingers lightly ran over the soft fur, feeling it slightly shiver at her touch, however did not move otherwise. Her gaze wondered up to it's owner, his golden eyes focused completely on Takeshi. She wondered if he had purposefully enveloped her in the warm fur or if the mokomoo had a mind of it's own.

"It makes me wonder if Lord Soharu is really dead." Takeshi went on, hazel eyes narrowing slightly, "His heir would be needed, it's not like Mitsui can expect to take his place. At least, not unless he found proof of her death as well." A light chuckle, that didn't seem to sound very humorous at all, slipped the demon lord's lips as he turned to examine the pair, "Why _do_ you have Soharu's heir, Sesshomaru?"

Sahara's blue eyes avoided Takeshi's hazel ones just as Sesshomaru spoke, "What business of yours would that be?"

"Well, seeing as how the man originally in charge of finding her has yet to do so and he is attacking me, I would assume I had the right to know."

"Lord Soharu is the lord butterfly demon at the north?" Sahara spoke quietly looking up at the man whose mokomoko still had her trapped next to him, "He is my father?"

"How many butterfly demons do you think are out there anymore?" Takeshi caught her attention again before Sesshomaru had time to respond, "Hasn't anyone told you that you are the last."

"Everyone has, but I didn't expect-"

"Sahara has no business with the north." Sesshomaru cut her off, "She was born and then was raised by humans."

Takeshi studied the dog-demon lord closely before a newly formed smile cracked across his face, "And you brought it upon yourself to take her under your wing? Come now, Sesshomaru, if you think I'm _that_ much of a moron then you offend me. The human child, Rin, was one thing when you took her under your protection for whatever reason. However, I don't believe you've turned over a new leaf and feel the need to help people." He paused examining Sahara fully, "No. I think there is more to this story than you are letting on."

Blue eyes shifted back to Sesshomaru's face wondering how he was going to react to Takeshi's prodding. His honey colored eyes narrowed, but he showed no other sign of anger, at least not in his expression. He looked as if he were about to say something, but Takeshi continued after his short pause.

"In fact, the only living female butterfly demon worthy of Lord Soharu was Lady Sarylah, was it not? Wasn't she a close friend of your father's? As I recall, and forgive me for crossing a boundary when I say this, but hadn't your father had an infatuation with her?"

Sahara flinched when the mokomoko suddenly tensed in response to Takeshi's in depth interrogation. However, the sudden squeeze didn't keep her curiosity from peaking at the mention of her mother and Sesshomaru's father. On the contrary, it caused her to wonder if what he said was true. Although, Sesshomaru's silent response to the questions slightly improved the likelihood. There was no time for the demon lord to respond as the door slid open revealing a kneeled Jaken and Rin standing behind him.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Rei-Lin requests your presence in the library. She says it's urgent!"

Sahara's heart beat quickly at the kappa's words. Rei-Lin had gone to the library doing research for Sesshomaru on the crystal fragments they had found. What could have been so urgent she would need Lord Sesshomaru for? The demon lord moved to leave the room, but stopped when he noticed the blonde woman had begun to follow his movements.

"You will remain here." His golden eyes then narrowed at Takeshi, the demon blinking with a slight look of bewilderment plastered on his face, "Do not touch her. I will return." Without hearing the demon's offended reply at having been indirectly accused of being a lecher, Sesshomaru exited the room.

Rooted to the ground where she stood, Sahara immediately blinked her eyes a few times to release herself from her shocked state. Why hadn't he permitted her to go with him? He instructed Rei-Lin to find a link between the shards and the butterfly demon clans, _her_ clans! If it was urgent wouldn't it pertain to her more than Sesshomaru? A burning anger was threatening it's way into her being as her thoughts continued to circulate around the arrogant, selfish, controlling jerk who had left her feeling slightly cold without his mokomoko. Despite the fireplace that still crackled a few feet away.. Takeshi let out a heavy sigh his once haughty, playful demeanor fading quickly as he smiled at Sahara, gaining her attention.

"We are childhood friends, yet he still won't let me in on things."

Blue eyes blinked in surprise as she turned to face him, "You grew up with Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Our fathers were companions for centuries. They had different views, but their friendship was very strong." He took a few steps towards her causing her to move slightly back, "You were raised by humans? I bet Sesshomaru wasn't very thrilled when he heard he would be bonded to you when he found that out."

The sarcasm in his tone was lost on her because a desire to be near Sesshomaru again was welling up inside her, "You knew?"

A mischievous smile creeped it's way on to his lips and he ran his fingers through his thick violet hair again, "Oh, Sesshomaru knows that I knew. That's why he was being all stoic and irritating." He rolled his hazel eyes and shook his head at that before continuing, "I have the ability to see auras, Princess. I knew the moment he stood beside you in the hallway that you two were bonded. I must admit I was surprised. Bondages rarely actually work, which is why a simple betrothal is agreed upon. However, they can also be easily terminated, unlike bonding."

Sahara furrowed her brow, the room around them was beginning to spin. _It's never accelerated like this before._ She thought forcing herself to concentrate on Takeshi's face, "Princess?"

"Well, yes. By all technicalities you are a princess." He smiled leaning in closer, "Your father is a demon lord, which being a daughter of a lord kind of equates to the same thing. On the other hand, Lady Sarylah was in, every way, a princess. Her parents ruled over the butterfly demons. Well, for the most part."

The young woman placed a hand over her right temple on her head, hoping the pressure would help keep her steady, at least until he returned. "But she was disowned."

Takeshi chuckled humorously at this, "Demons don't work the same way humans do. Sure, by the meaning of the word, her parents could have not looked at her as their daughter. However, her blue eyes, your blue eyes, are what decides the heir."

She furrowed her brow at this, "I don't understand."

"Well, you wouldn't since you've never seen another butterfly demon in your life." His gaze moved upwards to her forehead, "That mark... I suppose you don't know it's origin."

"Mark?"

"Didn't you know you had a heart shaped mark on your head?" When she shook her head, which she regretted the second she did because it made the dizziness worse, his face grew serious, "I've studied all sorts of demons and their culture. Most of my information though was acquired from Sarylah herself, but I know she told me butterfly demons do not have markings. You are just full of rarities, aren't you?"

The butterfly demoness took a few steps backwards while he advanced towards her, reaching out a clawed hand, "It's okay." He gave her a comforting smile when her backside came in contact with the wall, "I promise I won't hurt you. Remember how I said I can read auras, I can read into things a normal person wouldn't know. However, my powers work better if I"m in actual contact with-"

A pale fist came into hard contact with Takeshi's handsome face and sent him flying to the ground, Sahara's eyes glued themselves to the demon lord standing before her, "I thought I told you not to touch her."

Sesshomaru glowered down at the demon who was beginning to sit up rubbing his right cheek, "Geez, I wasn't going to make a move on her. I just wanted to see what made her so unique." His hazel eyes glared at the defensive demon lord, "If you didn't notice earlier, she's unaffected by my charms."

"Hm." The silver haired demon glanced over at Sahara noticing the pained expression on her face. Her pretty blue eyes were hooded under heavy eyelids and she swayed slightly, despite trying to steady herself against the wall.

"I think you were just looking for an excuse to hit me." Takeshi grumbled finally standing just in time to see the young woman's knees buckle in beneath her and she began to fall forwards towards Sesshomaru, who caught her in his strong arms effortlessly.

Sesshomaru cradled the unconscious girl in one arm and placed the opposite on her forehead. She was burning at the touch and her breath, he noted, was coming out in heavy gasps. His eyes narrowed in confusion. Sickness was immediately ruled out since demons were extremely unlikely to get sick. But she was so warm, like when Rin would come down with a minor cold.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Sesshomaru. You've been slacking on your bonding duties haven't you?" Takeshi scolded teasingly receiving a glare from his friend, " When was the last time you loved up on her?"

The demon lord inwardly flinched at the idea of doing such things, "This Sesshomaru does not 'love up' on anyone."

"Well, you better start if you want to keep her around." Takeshi examined his claws briefly before his hazel eyes bore into Sesshomaru,, "Believe me you'll want to keep her around. Losing a bonded will form a black pit in your soul and there will be no hope for happiness in your life. Not even little Rin could fill it." With that he headed for the door, "I better head off now, it seems your father didn't have anything of use to me. Good luck, Sesshomaru!" He winked before darting on to the other side of the door just barely missing the green venomous whip that had been directed at him.

Sesshomaru retracted his attack, glancing down at his sleeping intended. A heavy sigh escaped his lips just as he sat down on a nearby cushion holding her in his lap. This woman was proving to be far more trouble for him now that he had found her, than she had been when she was lost to him. The mere thought irritated him greatly.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The smell of sake and smoke overcame Akime's senses as she entered the wooden brothel house on the far side of the large village she had traveled to. The place was lavish in beauty on the inside, unlike the others that she had seen. Red and yellow decorations hung on the walls and beautiful screens blocked the two hallways that led to what Akime knew were large rooms cluttered with cushions and beautiful demon women. A demoness older than herself, with simple brown hair and dark colored eyes, who wore a decorative black kimono approached her, bowing lowly. "How may I help you, young maiden?"

Brown eyes narrowed in annoyance at having not been recognized, but she immediately shook it off. She, herself, didn't recognize this woman, which must mean that she was new and Akime shouldn't be upset that the woman didn't know her. In fact, this was the first time in over fifty years the young demoness had set foot in this place. She had told herself that she would never return, but as circumstances stood, there were no other options. This was the only place she would find help.

"I am here to see Master Kazuhiro."

The brown haired woman's dark eyes expanded in surprise before she bowed her head further again, "Forgive me, but Master Kazuhiro will not see any visitors."

"He will see me." Akime spat, "Tell him his sister is here to speak with him." At that the woman quickly stumbled up, her eyes still wide, only this time fear was clouding them.

"Right this way, please." She quickly led Akime down a few different hallways, making their way towards the back of the large building, down some wooden stairs, before stopping in front of a large sliding door, "He is just in there, My lady."

This back part was much darker than the entryway she had come in from. Akime wondered if they had added this on after she had left, fore she didn't recognize it at all. However, she nodded curtly, dismissing the plain woman away with a wave of her hand before tapping lightly on the door and sliding it open slowly, "Yo."

Bright golden eyes looked up from the back right corner of the fairly large, dark room. A candle danced nearby giving off a dim golden glow, shimmering the man's long dark blue hair. The darkness didn't do much for obscuring the man's handsome features, though that could be because Akime would not forget a single detail of her sibling's face. A toothy smile stretched across his features while he carefully set down the blade he had been cleaning with a cloth. Outstretching his clawed hand towards her, he motioned her to come in, "Akime, I haven't seen you in ages. How is palace life treating you? Are you the new lady of the West yet?"

Her older brother's mocking tone was not lost on her and she made sure to slam the door shut behind her in an effort to express her irritation at him. She crossed her arms, hiding them in the sleeves of her simple orange kimono, taking a seat about a foot away in front of him. She had to remind herself of her mission to keep herself from fighting with her older brother. The image of the blonde demon woman who needed to be removed flashed before her eyes and she cleared her throat.

"I need you to do a favor for me. And I believe you would certainly benefit from it."

"Oh?" A delicate eyebrow raised before he picked up his katana to finish wiping it down, "What kind of a favor?"

Akime's jaw tightened as she glared at her sibling. She swore to herself that she wouldn't get involved with her brother's "business" in any way, but it seemed she didn't have much of a choice, "There's a woman I think you would be very interested in. She is a rare type of demon, said to be the last of her kind. She's young and inexperienced, but with some training I'm sure she'd catch a worthy price."

Kazuhiro's light gold, almost yellow, hues left his sword to observe his sister, chuckling menacingly, "Is that so? Is this woman by any chance threatening your potential position?" Akime balled up her hands into fists, her shoulders tensing, "Is this woman a whore like you? Or is she of actual noble birth?"

She hesitated for a moment wanting to punch him in the face for the insult, but she needed him to do this. Sahara had to be removed so she could get Lord Sesshomaru back. Then she could start plotting her revenge for her unsupportive brother. "I suppose you would classify her as a servant. Lord Sesshomaru has kept her in his bedchamber. However, last night she left without permission and was not reprimanded at all."

He shook his head letting slip a cackle, "Have you considered that perhaps Lord Sesshomaru intends to make this woman his mate?" If possible, his grin seemed to widen at the disgusted expression that crossed her face before he continued, "You do realize, for me to acquire a woman from the palace itself, I would need the Lord's permission."

"Not unless she somehow winds up in the servant's quarters." His eyes flashed maliciously at the idea, "You would have had no idea she was anything but a servant. You do have free-range of the servant women, do you not?"

"I suppose I wouldn't be at fault if she happened to be down there when I make my next capture." Kazuhiro feigned a bored tone as he examined his handiwork on the blade carefully, "Who is this woman you speak of, Sister? For you to go to such lengths to be rid of her, she must be important."

"Lord Sesshomaru has taken an unusual interest in her, but she is of no real importance." She narrowed her brown eyes at his satisfied expression, "Are you interested?"

Akime's older brother frowned slightly before sheathing his katana and leaning forward against it, his smile returning, "Have her down in the servants quarters tomorrow night and we shall see if I am interested."


End file.
